Hyderabad: Graffiti and pop art, colorful skateboards and BMX cycles, sneakers and caps, young chuckling kids and sporty adults – all come alive every evening a few kilometers outside the city at the WallRide Park. Established in March of 2017, it is India’s first pump track and Telangana’s first skate park.
Located in Snehita Hills at Chevalla Road, the park is the brainchild of a young entrepreneur, Hamza Khan who moved to Hyderabad for work. “I was into skateboarding and BMX from a young age. When I first moved here, I practiced at this place in Lakdi ka pul which was not an actual skate park but we made use of the flat surfaces there. That is when the idea of having an international standard pump track and skate park came about,” he says.
Hamza reached out to a Swiss company that laid the tracks for the Olympics events and the track at WallRide Park coincides with the standards set by the International Cycling Federation and is the only skate park in the whole of South Asia that is fit to host an international competition. Hamza and his team have played key role in organizing several qualifier matches including the Red Bull Championships.
Skateboarding is riding and performing tricks on a skateboard. Bicycle Motocross otherwise known as BMX is stunt riding over an obstacle course on a bicycle designed especially for it. While the former has been included in the Olympics recently in 2020, the latter has been a part since 2008.
With the sport now foraying into professional events, parents who pictured skateboarding and BMX as just rebellious kids’ way of venting anger through dangerous stunts, are now changing perspectives.
“The optics are scary to parents in India. There is always the fear of their child falling off the skateboard which is inevitable. But since now it is an Olympic sport, we are seeing more parents enrolling their children into our classes,” he says.
The Roller Skating Federation of India and Cycling Federation of India have recently recognised Skateboarding and BMX and are slowly but steadily trying to support these sports with state and national level competitions.
WallRide Park is open from 2 pm to 9 pm except for Wednesdays and one can pay to use the park on an hourly or monthly basis. The veteran trainers at the park provide professional skateboarding and BMX classes to anyone interested.
