HYDERABAD: Skateboarding made its debut in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and boarders around the globe got a new lease of hope with the sport’s international recognition. Viewed largely as an action sport, it is now gaining traction around the country, including in Hyderabad. But people need to break away from their apprehensions around the sport for it to be accepted more, they say.
Boarders from the city tell us how the skateboarding culture started at a small parking lot in Lakdi-ka-Pul and grew to almost 100 boarders today.
It’s safe to say that most people’s first tryst with skateboarding and BMXing (freestyle cycling) came through video games, especially Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding game which was released in 1999. Thirty-four-year-old Tribhuvan Kokkula is no exception. He is probably Hyderabad’s only skateboarding coach recognised by the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI) — the national governing body for roller sports in the country. “I was 19 when I saw someone do an ollie on a skateboard when I was in China studying medicine,” says Tribhuvan.
He moved back to Hyderabad where he met a couple of people who were into skateboarding. “We used to practise at a small parking lot in Lakdi-ka-pul. We called the lot LKC. That is where Hyderabad’s skateboarding scene began,” he says. Chandra Teja, 25, has been skateboarding for the past six years. He, too, started skateboarding where every Hyderabadi started, LKC. “It’s an open parking lot. The people, who managed the lot, were okay with us skating there. So we used to hang out and skate there on the weekends,” he says.
Today, Tribhuvan trains around 20 kids how to skate at the WallRide Park (WRP) at Peerancheruvu — Hyderabad’s first and the only skate park. Hamza Khan, 28, quit his job at a construction company to start WRP back in 2017. Khan himself is a skateboarder and a BMXer, who wanted the city to have its own skate park.
“When I started, the skating scene in Hyderabad was not great -- there were just about 10-15 people. I was literally the first BMXer in the city. We used to practise at LKP, which was like the first adda for skateboarders. It was a great place to practise because all we needed was a flat concrete surface,” says Hamza.
WRP has a skate and pump park. The pump park is designed for racing and freestyle cycling, and is a one of its kind in South East Asia. The park was designed and built by Bengaluru-based skate park construction company 100 Ramps. Today, it has around 100 students and other boarders who use the park.
But to build the culture, which was virtually non-existent in the city, the skateboarders had to overcome many hurdles. “The Indian mentality also poses its own kind of obstacles,” adds Hamza. To begin with, skateboarding is an action sport, which is a difficult concept for people to wrap their heads around. “The sport grew tremendously in other countries only in the last five-six years and as with anything, India was slow to catch on,” he says.
Secondly, parents are apprehensive. “There’s a lot of falling involved in skateboarding. That was also a cause of concern for parents, they are overprotective,” he says.
Lastly, there were no competitions for skateboarding and that was the biggest reason for parents’ reluctance to send their children to pursue the sport. “So we started to organise competitions, initially in association with RedBull. Soon after we got the recognition from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in France, we started hosting several international, national and state-level events,” says Hamza. Apart from hosting competitions, WRP also hosts events where they organise hip hop cyphers, and invite graffiti artists and boarders from around the world. “The idea is to create a cultural movement, which frankly is very nascent at the moment,” he says.
Tribhuvan says they had even sent two competitors for qualifying in the Tokyo Olympics. But they couldn’t fit the criteria. “It will take at least a decade for India to compete at an international level. But with the right training, it is possible,” says Tribhuvan.
Hamza echoes similar views. “You have to start training children when they are young. I have seen children from rural Madhya Pradesh skateboard and they are amazing! These kids are far from the urban lifestyle that comes with skateboarding -- the newest sneakers, gear and skateboards -- but their moves are such a thrill to watch. It’s really heartwarming,” says Hamza.
Skateboarding is not just for the kids. Tribhuvan says his oldest student is a 44-year-old man. Many from the age group of 20-35 are slowly picking up sport, adds Hamza. “These people say that they want to pursue the things that they could not do when they were younger. Similarly, they are letting their kids pursue the sport too. Things are definitely changing,” says Tribhuvan.
The Olympic tag definitely helps the sport, both Tribhuvan and Hamza say. But people need to break away from their apprehensions around the sport for it to be accepted more and more.
Want to shred?
WallRide Park lets any non-motorised wheeled sport on its premises. You can rollerskate, skateboard, ride a cycle or use a non-motorised scooter at the park
Tariff
Rs 110 30 minutes:
Rs 200 1 hour
Rs 350 2 hours
Rentals
Scooter: Rs 150/hour
Skateboard: Rs 80/hour
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