Harish Muthu becomes the first Indian surfer to secure Asian Games 2026 quota

After an impressive display at the ongoing ASF Asian Surfing Championships 2024, Indian surfer Harish Muthu secured the country’s first surfing quota for the upcoming Asian Games 2026.

In the third round of the Open Men category in the Asian Surfing Championships in the Maldives, Muthu scored 8.43 to finish in the second position behind Indonesia’s Dhany Widianton, much more than the required 7.87 needed to qualify for the quarter-final.

This secured a quarter-final berth for Muthu in the tournament, as well as a berth in the Asian Games 2026 which will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. With this achievement, Muthu will become the first-ever Indian surfer to participate in the Asian Games.

The Asian Games 2026 will feature surfing for the first time, and the event will take place in Akabane Long Beach in Tahara, Japan.

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How did Harish Muthu fare in the ASF Asian Surfing Championships 2024?

After some incredible displays in the first three rounds, Harish Muthu qualified for Round 4 along with fellow male Indian surfer Ajeesh Ali. In the pre-quarterfinals, Ajeesh failed to progress to the next stage, scoring only an 8.33, much lower than the required 9.33.

However, Muthu moved on to the next stage, where he was put in Heat-2, which also had Made Joi Satriawan (Indonesia) and Kaisei Adachi (Japan). In the crucial round on Thursday, August 22, Muthu failed to bring his A-game to the table, scoring a disappointing 6.76, which was not up to the qualification standard for the semi-final.

As a result, Harish Muthu, who was the lone Indian male representative in the ASF Asian Surfing Championships 2024 quarterfinals, saw his tournament cut short in a heartbreaking manner.

Despite his exit from the event, Muthu will be immensely proud of his achievement and will look to let his stock rise with a fine performance at the upcoming Asian Games 2026.