7-yr-old surfs to draw in youngsters to sport

Initially wary of the strong waves and tired of the repeated falls, he has conquered the waves with elan. Now, Thaman is seven and can strike a pose on the surfboard.

“He was the one who approached me, asking how to surf. He had seen me going out to the sea. I finally let him and he instantly loved it,” said Murthy Megavan, Thaman’s father and the founder of Covelong Point Surfing School.

Typically, Thaman wakes up every day to go surfing with his dad. However, now it is restricted to the weekends as he has online classes. During the week, he does several physical and mental exercises at home to better his skills.

Thaman wants to encourage his peers and other youngsters to take up surfing as a sport. “None of my friends know what surfing is. I want to bring them to my father’s school and tell them that it is really cool. “This is what surfing is. It’s really cool and you get to play in the water for hours. That way, more people might start surfing,” he said.

Thaman, a resident of Kovalam village, idolises his father and says he is an inspiration. He wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a skilled surfer and teacher. With the introduction of surfing to the Olympics, he hopes to bring home a gold medal.

Thaman is but too young to compete. This has not stopped him from dreaming. “I can take part in competitions as soon as I am 12. I’m training from now for that. I do meditation and exercises daily and surf on the weekends with my dad who coaches me. During the week, I skateboard so that I improve my balance on the surfboard,” he said.