Ram Krishna Pariyar of Tilottama-4, Rupandehi, was not pleased with his son, Abhisekh, taking up skateboarding. He didn’t get it at the time; it looked dangerous and there was no element of sport to it.
Pariyar warmed up to the idea after seeing his son’s absolute passion for the sport. Abhisekh would perform various tricks to his amazement.
“Now I understand why he likes this sport so much. I personally don’t have skills in skateboarding as an old man but I am happy to see my son play. My wife and I come here regularly to watch him practice,” said Pariyar who on this particular day had come to watch Abhishek compete in the ‘Fifth South Asian Level Skateboard Competition and Skate Jatra’ at Tilottama Skatepark.
Amar BK is another proud father of a competitive skateboarder son, Sunil, who has already won various national and international prizes.
“We believe that our son can do well in this game,” said BK.
Ram Bahadur Kamu and his wife Prem Kumari were also at Tilottama Skatepark to cheer for their 15-year-old son, Yam Bahadur.
Besides Nepali skateboarders, the competition also saw around 300 skateboarders from various countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan and the Maldives.
Jagrit Pahadi, president of Skate-Aid Nepal, sees a great potential for skateboarding in Nepal.
“It is no longer a mere street sport that was once frowned upon by people. We now have several skate parks where young boys and girls can practice and hone their skills. It is slowly evolving into a competitive sport,” said Pahadi.
Nepali skaters are participating in international competitions and winning prizes.
Skate-Aid Nepal has been playing an important role to promote skateboarding in Nepal. They organize competitions and lessons, help build skateparks, and hand out skateboards to children.
Pahadi is hopeful that skateboarding will one day be one of the most popular sports among Nepali youths, as it is in the case of young people in the US and European countries. Currently, there are around 1,000 active skaters in Nepal.
To promote the sport, the government formed the Nepal Skating and Skateboarding Association in 2015. Skateparks are opening up in various parts of the country with the financial assistance of local and foreign skateboarding enthusiasts.
As Abhisekh, Sunil and Yam Bahadur were competing against foreign players in the ‘Fifth South Asian Level Skateboard Competition’, one first-time spectator said: “I had never watched this kind of game before. Now I’m a fan.” Slowly but surely skateboarding is taking over Nepal.
