FPJ Exclusive: 'We Turned The Tables On All Opponents', Says Hriday Chheda As India Equestrian Team Wins Historic Asian Games Gold

In what could be of great historical significance, the India equestrian team consisting of Anush Agarwalla, Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh and Sudipti Hajela won gold in the dressage event, at the Asian Games in Hangzhou here on Tuesday.

In the process, they broke the 41-year-old jinx at a continental event. This saw India land its third gold medal at the Asian Games 2023.

Team Effort for Gold

Agarwalla, Chheda, Divyakriti Singh, Sudipti Hajela astride their respective horses combined to score 209.205 and landed India its first gold in the sport after 41 years. It was at the 1982 Games in New Delhi that Raghubir Singh had won gold in an individual event, while the last medal in dressage, a bronze, came during the 1986 edition.

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Hriday Chheda's Determination

In an exclusive interview with Free Press Journal, Hriday had said that he along with his team will turn the tables and try to make his debut a memorable one. And on Tuesday, he did this and made history by winning the gold medal in the dressage event.

“Over the past year, we've dedicated ourselves to consistent improvement, and our results reflect our hard work," Hriday had said just before leaving his training base in Germany for the Games in China.

He also spoke about the opponents. The 25-year-old from Mumbai had said, “There are many talented riders at this championship, a few stand out as particularly formidable. Notably, there is a rider from Malaysia, as well as a strong contender from the host country, China, and the defending champions Hong Kong. These riders have spent significant time in Europe and possess impressive stables of horses. It promises to be a captivating and competitive championship”. But all of them are now history, as Indians proved they are the champions.

The Remarkable Comeback

It was a remarkable comeback after dropping to third place in the initial period, allowing China and Hong Kong to go ahead. Still in contention for a bronze medal, Anush and his horse Etro, scored 71.088, pushing him in the second position in the individual rankings. With others chipping in too, India latched on to the top spot and took the top honours in a competition lasting 10 hours. Chheda astride Emerald scored 69.941, Divyakriti on top of Firdod got 68.176, and Sudipti secured 66.706 riding Chinski to finally end India's wait for a gold on Day 3 of the Games.

It could be a record, such as winning a dominant performance by an equestrian for 41 years, and it has finally been surpassed.