Asian Games 2026: For India's French surfing coach, Aichi-Nagoya just a stepping stone towards LA28

Frenchman Samai Reboul believes that India's historic Asian Games debut in surfing should be viewed as a stepping stone towards the "ultimate goal" of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Reboul, a former surfer and trained coach who has been working with the Indian national team since 2024, is currently preparing the four-member squad in Mahabalipuram ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where surfing will make its continental debut.

India will field two men and two women in the shortboard competition. Kishore Kumar and Sivaraj Babu are competing in the men's event while Kamali Moorty and Sugar Shanti Banarse will take part in the women's section.

The Asian Games will also offer quota places for the 2028 Olympics, giving Indian surfing a potential pathway to the sport's biggest stage.

"The Olympics is definitely part of the long-term vision, but to get there an important objective is to create sustainable pathways for Indian surfers to develop from a young age and eventually compete at the highest international level. The 2026 Asian Games are an important step," Reboul told SAI Media.

"After that, we need to build towards the 2028 Olympics and beyond. For me, success would be having Indian surfers who are regularly competing internationally, travelling with the needed support, understanding professional competition and being capable of qualifying for major events.

"If we do that properly, Olympic qualification, the ultimate goal, becomes a consequence of a strong system rather than a one-off objective," he added.

Reboul, 41, lives in Auroville, Puducherry, and has spent more than half his life in India. He previously worked as an instructor and managed Kallialay Surf School for more than a decade before taking up the national coaching role.

He guided India to a historic bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championships in the Maldives and has since overseen national selection camps and the team's preparations.

India's Asian Games squad will be coached by Reboul, with Sanjay Selvamani serving as his deputy.

Surfing's inclusion in the Asian Games comes after more than a decade of organised development in India, which has a coastline of more than 7,000km.

"What we need now is time and investment. Surfing cultures take time to develop. India is building that now. We are seeing better competitions, better coaching, more young surfers coming through and more athletes getting international experience," Reboul said.

"The fact that India qualified for the 2026 Asian Games is itself an important step in that development. I would say we are clearly moving in the right direction," he added.