How Sugar Banarse Is Parting The Waves For A New Generation Of Women Surfers In India
“My biggest obstacle has been being an Indian female athlete,” says Sugar Banarse, the 18-year-old four-time Indian National Female Surfing Champion. “But it makes me more determined to inspire other young girls.”
Banarse, from the coastal state of Goa, discovered her sport at a young age. She describes the “freedom” she had growing up near the ocean: “Exploring the water… was a natural progression, I was very lucky to have that. My surfing happened quite naturally.” However, it wasn’t as simple as riding waves. Without access to elite trainers or sponsorship, Banarse worked at her local surf school while also training eight hours daily to fulfil her dream of becoming a professional athlete. The hard work paid off and at 16, she was offered training in Pondicherry, on the Southeastern Coast of India, by coach Samai De Kallialay. “I still take his guidance and advice for my surfing. By far, he’s been the best coach,” says Barnarse.
Her hard work paid off, as the same year, Banarse was crowned national champion in the women’s category at the Indian Open of Surfing in 2022. The young athlete – who cites American professional surfers Carissa Moore and Bethany Hamilton, as well as her mum, as role models – began to dream of representing her country in the Paris 2024 Olympics. “I really hope to be able to get out on an international level and represent my country,” she says. Surfing only recently qualified as an Olympic sport, first appearing at the Tokyo Games in 2020. India debuted its first internationally competitive men’s surfing team at 2023’s ISA World Surfing Games in El Salvador, a key event in the surfing calendar. However, there are not enough girls at the national level to form an official Indian women’s team. “I just want a chance to compete on a level playing field,” says Banarse. “To have the same training and equipment as the elite athletes – to see how far I could go, to make India proud”.
Banarse has recently been missing from the surf scene, while she recovers from a knee injury. However, she hopes to fully recover for the Indian National Championships at the end of May. Despite all the challenges she’s faced, Banarse hasn’t lost her “love and passion” for the sport. “I hope that we get more support and recognition for the future of young Indian female surfers,” she says. “But I’m also really excited to be part of something new and emerging in India. It’s not gonna be easy, but as long as you have the discipline and the dedication, anything is possible.”
The photography is the work of the creative duo and co-owners of SB-Studios, Sophie Ball and Sebastian Barros. The pair met Banarse’s Mum on a beach while travelling in India in 2024, and inspired by her story, they decided to spend New Year’s Day shooting the surfer. The pair worked together, with Barros behind the camera and Ball hitting it off with Banarse to create these beautiful images. “We wanted to portray Sugar and storyboard scenarios where we could capture her diversity. – not just the cultural diversity but the diversity of being a teenager, a woman and an athlete,” says Barros
Jamie Styles is Digital Editorial Assistant at Service95
