Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article /
Asian Games: Wronged, then getting it right with golden show
Updated On: 27 September, 2023 07:34 AM IST | Hangzhou | Ashwin Ferro
India’s dressage team of Sudipta Hajela, Divyakriti Singh, Hriday Chheda and Anush Agarwalla shrug off battles with Federation to claim first Asian Games gold in 41 years
Listen to this article :
(From right) Hriday Vipul Chheda, Anush Agarwalla, Divyakriti Singh and Sudipti Hajela pose with their gold medals, on Tuesday. Pic/PTI
The quartet of Sudipti Hajela, Divyakriti Singh, Hriday Chheda and Anush Agarwalla, comprising the dressage team, created history by clinching India’s first Asian Games gold medal in equestrian in 41 years. This, after a series of controversies, one of which threatened their participation in this very event.
The Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) has attracted negative headlines for some time now. The issues have ranged from sacking of selection committee members to selection irregularities. Consequently, riders have knocked on the court’s doors and time and again proved the federation wrong in many of their decisions. In fact, such has been the functioning of the EFI that back in 2014, the sports ministry had even threatened to derecognise them for sending a lame horse to the Asian Games. Coming back to 2023, one of the riders—a two-time national champion—sued the EFI and got a verdict in his favour when he alleged that the federation was deliberately hindering his pursuit for a spot on the Asian Games team. Thereafter, these very gold medallists, who have made history here, knocked on the court’s doors citing selection issues with the EFI. “Three months ago, the EFI refused to send these four young riders to the Asian Games. Only after the riders took legal recourse, was an out-of-court settlement reached and they were able to participate. If EFI had their way, this gold medal would never have been possible,” former India rider Col Rajesh Pattu, an Arjuna awardee and a three-time Asian Games medallist, told mid-day.
Read Next Story
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT