School dropout Ramesh Budihal on cusp of Asian surfing glory

CHENNAI: The 2024 season was tough for Ramesh Budihal as he lost his father and failed to make the cut for the Asian Surfing Championships in the Maldives. But he persevered and made history on Saturday in Mamallapuram by becoming the first Indian to reach the final in the continental stage.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The 24-year-old Ramesh (11.43 points) from Kerala entered the title decider after finishing second in heat 1 of the semifinals. “This is my biggest-ever achievement and is just the beginning. With the Asian Games coming up, there is more to look up to. The team was inspired to perform well, especially since the tournament is being held in India,” Ramesh told TOI.Ramesh’s journey to this historic moment began along the shores of Kovalam in Kerala, where he picked up surfing at the age of five. He joined the Sebastian Indian Social Projects (SISP), a Belgian-run non profit organisation (NGO), which provides education for underprivileged children and learned surfing from the Kovalam Surf Club. Ramesh comes from a modest background with his mother running a handicraft shop along the coastline in Kovalam.“My family did not support me initially because they thought the sport was risky. They wanted me to study well and secure a job. But once I started winning, they gained confidence and began supporting me,” added Ramesh, who dropped out of school in Grade 8.Despite the challenges, Ramesh slowly carved his own path and has established himself as one of the top-most surfers in the country and is also a force to reckon with at the Asian level. While Ramesh showcased remarkable skills on his way to the ASC final, he did not expect to come this far, feeling that the preparation was not sufficient. The team’s primary goal was to secure an Asian Games quota and everything beyond that is a bonus.The tenacity he showed in the semifinals was on full display as he had to come from behind to reach the final. “I could not start the way I wanted to and did not find my rhythm. But once I heard that I had scored over five points in the third wave, I took a moment to breathe and regained my focus. I just had to catch the right wave to put a good total and that is what I did in the end.”Meanwhile, 18-year-old Kishore Kumar from India also reached the last-four stage and finished last in his heat. Another Indian, D Srikanth, had to settle for a quarterfinal finish.