Good Sports: SURFING QUEEN
Mumbai native Ishita Malaviya, 26, was introduced to surfing eight years ago by a German exchange student and enjoyed it so much, she made it her profession. Sponsored by surfwear brand Roxy, Malaviya is India’s only professional female surfer.
“I’ve realised that if you just focus on one thing for the rest of your life, things start to happen,” Malaviya, who has a degree in journalism, told DNA.
Co-founder of Shaka Surf Club on the west coast of Karnataka with her partner Tushar Pathiyan, she has surfed in Hawaii, California, and Australia, and hopes to attract more international surfers to the Indian coastline.
She has been featured in a couple of documentaries, one on herself and one on female surfers. “I’m blessed,” she said. “Surfing has helped me simplify my life. ... It teaches you to stay humble and keep growing. I intend to spread surfing, without creating exclusivity around the sport, but rather with a sense of community.”
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