After clinching Asian Games berth in surfing, 15-year-old Kamali is eyeing for more success

CHENNAI: Mahabalipuram’s ancient temples and monuments have long been its main draw, but the town’s burgeoning surfing scene is adding a new dimension. The region’s favourable coastal conditions have helped produce surfers who are making waves at the national stage.
A young talented surfer from the town is 15-year-old Kamali Moorthy, who has been making rapid strides in her short but brief professional career.After manoeuvring the waves for over a decade, Kamali helped India bag an Asian Games quota in the women’s section at the recently concluded Asian Championships. Kamali was the lone woman surfer from the country and in her maiden international competition, she proved her worth.
Having been raised by a single mother Suganthi, Kamali got hooked to the sport at the age of three upon seeing her uncle surf. “My uncle Santhosh was a surfing instructor, and I asked him if he could teach me to surf. I started for fun and then when I turned seven, I thought I could take it further. In 2021, I wanted to test my level and take part in a competition for the first time, but due to Covid-19, no tournaments were held. A year later, I competed in my first tournament but could not progress to the final stages,” Kamali told TOI.
Although Kamali did not achieve success in her first meet, she gained experience by competing against several national-level players. Till 2021, Kamali used to only train without taking part in competitions. After competing in her maiden tournament, Kamali understood where she stood. “I went back and learnt from my mistakes. The year 2023 turned out to be a successful one as I won several national meets in both the seniors and junior levels. That one competition (first tournament) taught me a lot and it was the turning point in my career.”
In 2019, before Kamali took up surfing professionally, a short film on her won the ‘Best Documentary Award’ at the Atlanta Film Festival and made it to the Oscars. “One of my friends used to handle my Instagram account and used to put videos of me. It is through that the director Sasha Rainbow from New Zealand came to know about me. They started with a song. Later, they liked my surfing style and wanted to make a short film about me. We did not expect the movie to get shortlisted for the Oscars.
“After seeing the film receive awards, many started recognising me. Before the Oscar shortlist, I did not know about the Oscar award. I came to know about it after I grew older and understood the enormity of the award,” Kamali added.
Lack of female participation
There is a lack of female participation in surfing in India and there are many reasons for it. Kamali stressed on how the society is not helping the cause. “I am the only girl who skates and surfs in my town. Girls need to come out. The main reason for them not venturing out is not because of their parents but due to their relatives. They (relatives) will complain saying that ‘she will get tanned … so on’; the same has happened to me too. It is the surroundings that need to change.
“I have tried to push girls in my locality to play sports. They come to train for a maximum of one week and later quit. Their parents get brainwashed by their surroundings. One good thing after the Asian meet was that a mother came to me and asked if I could teach her daughter to surf. I said that I was ready to train her at any time. I think the change will happen slowly.”
Multi-talented
Apart from surfing, Kamali is a skateboarder and specialises in the park discipline. The youngster has won multiple medals in state competitions and recently, won a gold medal in district meet.
“I focus on skateboarding during monsoon season when there is hardly any wave to train. September to March is the off-season (in surfing) and it is when I turn to skateboarding. I took up surfing and skateboarding at the same time and I am trying to excel in both. Earlier, we had a dedicated place to train for skateboarding, but it was demolished for setting up a business venture. Then, I started travelling to Chennai for training. When we had a facility for skateboarding in Mahabalipuram, many used to train but now, I am the only one to continue training.”