Eleven-year-old skateboarder Dhyan Joshi stood near a deep pit and piles of rubble on Pashan-Sus Road, where until a few weeks ago was a stretch lined with smooth concrete ramps, flocked by enthusiastic athletes of all ages. “The place that inspired me to learn skateboarding has vanished into thin air. Some new road is being built here,” Dhyan said.A four-time national medal winner for skateboarding, the young athlete told TOI, “I discovered this skatepark after the Covid-19 pandemic, when I saw other skateboarders practising here. I instantly knew I wanted to be a part of this community. I could come here any time of the day. So many trees around even allowed us to practice in the afternoon heat. I owe it to this space for introducing me to the sport.” The 150m stretch in question on Pashan-Sus Road, popularly known as ‘Pune Skate Spot’, was part of Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) ‘Streets For People Challenge’ project in 2022, aimed at creating engaging ‘experience zones’ for citizens on pavements. It all began in 2021, when Dinkar Gojare, then-executive engineer of the road department, noticed a few skateboarders practising away on a patch of pavement along JM Road, at a time of day when the footpaths were not crowded with pedestrians. Gojare saw that the skateboarders were visibly talented, but the infrastructure far from appropriate for them to hone their skills. He also happened to be in charge of the development of Pashan-Sus Road back then. Putting two and two together, the civic official sought approval from his seniors — and ‘Pune Skate Spot’ was born as a free and accessible venue for lovers of a niche, exciting recreational activity and art form. The zone took around Rs20 lakh to build, civic officials said.“We took inputs from the skateboarders and their mentor/coach while designing the stretch, and it was a great collaborative project. The fact that we have so many skateboarders practising there and winning nationally, even internationally, is a thing of immense pride,” Gojare told TOI. Pune has long been a forerunner in promoting skateboarding as a sport, so come 2026, the decision to scrap the park came as a surprise to the athletes. In fact, in 2015, Pune witnessed the inauguration of India’s first govt-funded skatepark in Sahakarnagar. The players have not disappointed either. Almost all those who skateboard in the city have participated in national and international events, and have largely managed to bag podium finishes. One such homegrown talent is Yoshiro Sarkar. The 12-year-old recently broke into the world ranking (2026) for skateboarders at spot 178 out of 203. The only Indian to make the list and at a young age, Yoshiro told TOI that he started learning the sport on the humble Pashan-Sus Road stretch. “I began visiting the Pashan-Sus Road skatepark, after my father’s friend gifted me my own skateboard. The regulars there taught me everything I know. I love that skateboarding has so much to explore and learn as a sport. There is always a new trick to master and that makes it fun for me,” said Yoshiro, who stays on the Baner Pashan Link Road, adding, “When I found out that the stretch was dug up, I felt extremely sad.” Yoshiro recently participated in the Skateboarding World Championships São Paulo 2025 in the street discipline category, held between March 1 and 8 this year. His father Sandeep Sarkar said the young skateboarder will now enter competitions this and next year to qualify for the 2028 Olympics. “This is our effort to get Yoshiro as much exposure as possible to a sport ecosystem that exists in other countries and is limited in India. All these competitions will act as learning grounds for him. I hope he gets inspired by other skateboarders and in turn, inspires many others,” the proud father told TOI. Roller Skating Federation of India coach and a mentor to Pune’s many enthusiastic skateboarders, Swapnil Magar, was part of the team that helped PMC build the skatepark. He told TOI, “When the space was built as part of the civic streets project, it was encouraging for all in our skateboarding community. I helped design it, too. Several athletes have progressed while practising on this patch, and since we were all a part of the inception process, the spot is very close to us.” The 37-year-old added, “Today, half the skatepark has been broken down for an infrastructure project. This was the only free park in the city. Almost all private venues are expensive and far away for skateboarders. We are just requesting unhindered access to a free skatepark.” The cost of pursuing the sport they love is now much higher. Yashodhan Patil, a first-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student in the city, said that because half of the park has been broken now, they have no option but to go to the private skatepark in Bavdhan, which charges around Rs2,000 for a month’s membership. “The park is not too clean and we have faced some issues with the staff. One has to go only early in the morning as the summer afternoons are too hot, and there isn’t adequate lighting post-twilight. It drastically restricts our ability to practice, especially when several national tournaments are just around the corner,” said the Prabhat Road resident. Yashodhan, who has been skating for seven years now, started by learning at a rollerskating academy in Kopa Mall, Koregaon Park, then spent some time at the skatepark in Sahakarnagar — but he says he felt most at home on the open stretch of Pashan-Sus Road. Many of the regulars told TOI that this skatepark featured a quarter pipe, a funbox kicker-to-kicker, a second quarter pipe, and a flat surface, making it suitable for street-style skating, as well as very beginner-friendly. Dev Vankore, a skateboarder for about 10 years now, used to travel from Katraj to the Pashan-Sus Road skatepark to practice and get better at the sport. Now, he too has been headed to the Bavdhan alternative. He said, “The latter is not bad as one can learn a lot of new tricks. But the earlier one was free, a huge plus point for many of us. We were a part of its design, so obviously we have a soft spot for it. I started learning on JM Road, but the police would often stop us there. The Pashan-Sus Road park was dedicated to us and out in the open, which is irreplaceable,” said Dev, a barista by profession.Offical SaysThe upcoming grade separator on Pashan-Sus Road is a must. There have been quite a few accidents at the spot where motorists from Pashan-Sus Road join the highway to travel towards Bavdhan. This project has been in the works for a while, but paperwork and shortage of funds delayed the start. As far as the skatepark is concerned, the development of Pashan-Sus Road has always been with me and so I was more than happy to help the athletes create this space around four years ago. Just because the grade separator is underway now, I haven’t forgotten about the skatepark. I will look at what can be done and what space could be used as an alternative by the skateboarders. If there is an existing space, I will see if I can help the skateboarders coordinate with the relevant ward office and PMC sport department. We could potentially also look at converting an empty space that was earmarked for amenity use to create a dedicated skatepark. We will see what is the best possible solution — Dinkar Gojare | Chief Engineer (Projects), Pune Municpal Corporation
