My name is Kaustubh Khade. And I am a Kayaker.

I’m the first Indian to kayak the West Coast of India solo. I’ve won 2 silver medals and 1 bronze at the Asian Championships  in 2012 and have represented India twice. I made the Limca Book of Records for the longest solo kayaking by an Indian.

In 2016 I quit my job as a Sr. Product Manager to do a 83-day expedition across 6 States and  3 UTs to go from Dwarka, Gujarat to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. It was the first time an Indian had attempted the 3,000km West Coast of India by kayak and I successfully completed it in February of 2017.

In 2015, I kayaked Solo from Bombay to Goa.

I covered 415 kms in 17 days,setting a Limca Record for the Longest Solo Kayaking by an Indian.
Through the expedition, I raised money for an NGO, MagicBus that worked with underprivileged kids through sport.
I am committed to changing the perception of Kayaking in India and want to see more Indians on the global stage of competitive kayaking in the years to come.

My Story:

To say I’ve always been in sports is to call a shark a fish. I dabbled in a host of sports (still do) and was sports captain at school, vice-captain of the football team at Junior school. In 2009 I graduated from IIT Delhi and shortly after I took up kayaking. In 2012 at a national championship for Dragon Boat racing, I got selected for the national team to go to the Asian Championship in Thailand. In our maiden tournament we won 6 silver medals and 3 bronze.

The national anthem plays for the country that wins gold, and it hurt us deeply not hearing it, standing on a podium.

Subsequently I focussed on kayaking as a solo sport. A year later, I found myself in Thailand again, but this time for the Asian Sea Kayaking tournament. I represented India in the 13km race and finished 5th overall.

The mission here is simple. Promote Kayaking.

I’ve been lucky to take up sailing, archery, football, rugby, swimming, and track. And it’s taken me ages to find a sport that I truly excel at. There are many out there that are far from finding theirs.

For a Full Bio: Download Bio

Sponsorship Deck for the K2K Expedition: Download West Coast Deck

To explore partnerships write into me at kaustubh@paddlehard.in