When you think of Asia’s surfing nations, Indonesia instantly springs to mind. Japan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are also in the equation. But Afghanistan? Saudi Arabia? Singapore? Probably not.
This September, surfing will make its debut at the Asian Games, one of the world’s biggest multi-sport events outside the Olympics, and alongside the continent’s established surf powers will be a collection of nations with almost impossible surf stories. Some don’t have world-class waves. Some barely have a surf culture. One doesn’t even have a coastline.
At last year’s Asian Surfing Championships in Mahabalipuram, India, the event that doubled as qualification for the Games, those stories came together. Beyond the medals, it offered a glimpse into how surfing is taking root in places where, on paper at least, it probably shouldn’t exist.
Surfing Without a Coastline
Afghanistan has never been mistaken for a surf destination.
Yet Afridun Amu has spent years trying to change that.
Born in Kabul before moving to Europe, Amu first discovered surfing on France’s Atlantic coast after finishing high school. Today he represents Afghanistan internationally and estimates there are fewer than ten competitive Afghan surfers worldwide – although he believes thousands more Afghans living across the global diaspora have discovered surfing in their adopted homes.
In 2018 he returned to Afghanistan with an unlikely mission: introduce surfing to a country with no ocean. His solution was static river waves created by snowmelt flowing through the mountains.
“When the ice melts, the mountain rivers create a great spot for static waves. The idea was for them to experience the movement of being on a board.”
Afghanistan qualified for the Asian Games, but with no functioning domestic surf federation and most of its surfers living overseas, the national team is essentially held together by the diaspora.
Too Many Waves, Too Few Women
The Maldives is home to some of the world’s most famous reef breaks, but competitive surfing for women is still in its infancy.
It wasn’t until 2021 that the country fielded its first female competitive surfers — just four athletes in a sport that had been almost exclusively male.
“It has been a male-dominated sport for quite some time, but now it’s changing,” said Aya Naseem.
“We’ve grown from four to seven,” added teammate Rishta Shuja.
The numbers are still small, but the trajectory is obvious. The Maldivian Surfing Association is investing heavily in its women’s programme, with the country set to field a full women’s team at the Asian Games for the first time.
Building From Zero
Saudi Arabia’s surfing programme is even younger.
Lamar Mufti only started surfing while studying in Bristol a year ago. Soon after, she was contacted by the Saudi Surfing Federation and invited to represent the country.
“I started surfing a year ago, and this is also my first time on a hardboard,” she laughed.
She’s one of just two women on the national team.
The long-term vision, according to technical director Dan Janes, is grassroots development. Surfing’s Olympic status has accelerated investment, with Saudi actively recruiting young surfers while sending its national team overseas to train in destinations like Portugal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Ironically, the biggest obstacle isn’t funding – it’s waves.
“For now, the federation makes sure the team travels to the best spots for training,” said Abdul Rahman.
“But this will change soon,” added Mohammed Ghazi. “We’ll soon have an amazing wave pool in Riyadh.”
The Saudi team received their invitation to the Asian Games but still haven’t confirmed their presence at the Games.
A Growing Surf Scene
Lebanon isn’t short of waves – only recognition.
Winter swells light up sections of the Mediterranean coastline, while a small but passionate surf community continues to grow despite the country’s ongoing challenges.
Asked where visitors should check out if they ever considered a surf trip to Lebanon, national team surfer Chris Dirany didn’t hesitate.
“Mustafa’s A-frame.”
It’s where he learned to surf, and where much of Lebanon’s next generation is following suit.
Lebanon will compete in the Men’s Open division at the Asian Games.
No Local Waves
Singapore faces a different problem.
“There are no waves,” shrugged 15-year-old national team member Aydin Kayani.
“My typical surf day? I wake up, go to school, come home, play with friends and sleep.”
The Surfing Association of Singapore simply exports its athletes.
School holidays become training camps in Indonesia, particularly Bali, where surfers gain both quality waves and high-level competition.
Coach and association president Ajill Salleh spent years driving into Malaysia just to surf and admits Singapore is still decades away from having a genuine surf culture. For now, the focus is simply growing participation and giving young surfers a pathway.
An Unexpected Wave
The championships themselves were held at Mahabalipura, or “Mahabs” as it’s known locally, a surprisingly rippable right point that fires during India’s east coast summer.
For plenty of visiting surfers, it was their first reminder that India actually has quality waves.
The home team made the most of it.
Kishore Kumar and Sivaraj Babu secured India’s men’s qualification, while Kamali Moorthy leads the women’s squad after years spent helping push Indian surfing onto the international stage.
Bangladesh, Malaysia and the UAE have also qualified surfers for the Games, adding to one of the most diverse competitive line-ups Asia has ever assembled.
In traditional surfing nations, the sport is often inherited. Kids grow up watching their parents surf, local boardriders clubs feed into state teams, and talent develops naturally over generations.
For many of these nations, there was no blueprint.
Some have no coastline. Some have no surf culture. Others have waves but almost no competitive history.
Instead, they’ve built national programmes from the ground up, recruited athletes wherever they could find them and sent them overseas in search of surf.
When surfing finally takes its place at the Asian Games this September, those stories may prove just as compelling as the results.
