3 min readBengaluruAug 12, 2026 06:41 PM IST
The Karnataka High Court reminded the Surfing Federation of India on Wednesday that “with great power comes great responsibility” after an athlete challenged its decision not to nominate him to represent India at the upcoming Asian Games, which will include surfing for the first time.
“These are issued related to athletes and if you do not support them properly they have to come to court, they are better off there surfing, not in the courts. If you do your thing properly they do not come to court. If we find that lacking, we will definitely be taking action,” Justice Suraj Govindaraj said.
The federation informed the court that its Executive Council decided on June 23 to select Sivaraj Babu as the participant and Ramesh Budihal as the first reserve in the Asian Games men’s surfing event because the selection committee had not given any recommendation.
The federation said it based its decision on athletes’ past performance because of time constraints, as it had to send the participants’ details to the Indian Olympic Association so that their names could be uploaded on the Olympic Council of Asia’s portal.
Ramesh Budihal, 25, questioned the decision, stating that he is India’s only Asian Surfing Championship medal winner and that no reason was cited for not selecting him. He said won the bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championship 2025, held in Tamil Nadu.
His counsel said years of hard work would go in vain if one is denied the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to participate in Asian Games, held once in four years. He requested that a fresh committee be constituted to select athletes for the event to be held in Japan, arguing that the Executive Council cannot pick athletes.
‘Don’t try to be over and above the athletes’
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When Justice Govindaraj asked whether the Executive Council has powers to select participants for the event, the federation’s counsel referred to a circular issued by it and said, “I (federation) have the right to select. I can nominate the participant if I choose.”
However, the court took strong exception to this. “Without the athletes you are nobody, don’t try to be over and above the athletes, you are only acting in a managerial capacity nothing more and nothing less. Don’t try to say that I am entitled to do whatever, that will not be tolerated by this court,” the judge said.
The federation’s counsel further submitted, “The petitioner (Budihal) is among the top surfers, but his current form and his participation in all international events cumulatively taken together, with the exception to the Asian Championship event, he has been eliminated in the first round.”
While posting the matter for further hearing on Thursday, the court directed the federation to place on record details of the powers under which its Executive Council can select Asian Games participants.
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Budihal’s plea stated that the federation’s decision was “highly arbitrary, discriminatory, unreasonable and is in violation of Articles 14, 19, and 21 of The Constitution of India”.
