Anuja Anand Vaidya, an adrenaline junkie from Gujarat's Surat, represented India in the Asian Waterskiing & Wakeboarding Championships in Thailand, held from June 24 to 29. She made history as the first Indian woman to compete in an international waterskiing competition. The 27-year-old's tryst with the sport began nearly seven years ago, when she trained with her father in the River Tapi. Despite limited resources in her city, she remained steadfast in her passion and went on to represent the nation.
Anuja participated in the open women's water ski slalom event in Thailand. She told the Times of India, "In Surat, we practised with different gear. Competing with professional setups in Thailand was a major learning curve." Her father added, "We used basic equipment for her training in Tapi. To our surprise, she performed remarkably well."
The Asian Waterskiing & Wakeboarding Championships 2025 were organised by the Thailand Extreme Sports Association and sanctioned by the International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation Asia. Apart from Anuja, two other Indian athletes, Vilas Thakare and Arvind Raturi, participated in the men's competitions at the event.
Anuja Vaidya: Mountaineer & waterskier
Right from childhood, Anuja Vaidya participated in many sports like trekking and swimming. Her mother, who is from Uttarakhand, inspired her and her sister Aditi to get into mountaineering at a young age. She has climbed the world's Seven Summits. She is also the first climber from Gujarat to scale Mount Vinson Massif and the Carstensz Pyramid.
Anuja and Aditi climbed Everest in their first attempt in 2019, earning them the title 'Everest Sisters' from Gujarat. According to Anuja's Instagram bio, they are the world's second sisters to climb the world's highest peak together. They have founded an adventure sports company called Get Set Adventures and a homestay called Yayavars in Uttarakhand.
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/2024/11/11/2024-11-11t082606806z-shethepeople-black-logo-2000-x-2000-px-1.png){kind=logo}
/shethepeople/media/member_avatars/6PFAqAWygpdpsW9HJtjQ.png )
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/media_files/2025/07/02/anuja-vaidya-2025-07-02-09-52-36.png)