Meet the four equestrians who overcame the odds to win the dressage gold at the Asian Games
The Indian Express follows the path of each team member, each of them has a unique tale to tell but who all have one thing in common: they all overcame obstacles to achieve success.
Divyakriti Singh, Sudipti Hajela, Anush Agarwalla, and Hriday Vipul Chheda‘s Indian team made history on Tuesday in Hangzhou by winning the nation’s first-ever equestrian dressage team event gold medal at the Asian Games.
Additionally, it put an end to India’s 41-year wait for an equestrian gold medal at the Asian Games.
The struggle hardened her
23, Jaipur Divyakriti Singh
Divyakriti Singh recalled competing in a dressage competition in Crozet, France, and just missing out on making the Asian Games.
Coming so close, but not really making it hit. She adds, “I kept thinking that I had done everything, so why wasn’t anything working out? “As I look back, I’m delighted we had to fight in Europe against the finest riders in the world and set a high bar. I’ve had a number of failures that had negative outcomes. But that battle strengthened me,” says India’s first-ever dressage gold medalist at an Asian Games.
Despite being born into a well-to-do Jaipur family, being surrounded by polo players, and getting into Jesus & Mary College in Delhi and the famous Mayo College Girls School through the sports quota, Divyakriti claims her family still had to spend a lot of money to support her aspiration. It required the reserved woman to withdraw even more into her comfort zone. “No social life, a small group of friends, constantly away on birthdays. I haven’t visited my house in a while. She describes her life ever since she began the sport in grade 7 as constantly taking care of horses.
When the pandemic hit, Divyakriti was in Denmark, where many people spent the next two months in lockdown. With her first horse, Storm, she fell into a lifestyle that required her to work seven days a week, with no vacations or holidays.
“Everyone in Europe tends to their horses’ needs, including grooming. I discovered it,” she reflects. “At that time, there was awful news from all over the world about individuals losing their lives. Despite being alone, I was fortunate, and Storm helped me get through that period. The visa was about to expire, therefore I needed to return home as soon as possible. I managed my anxiousness by preparing the horse every day.
In December 2022, Divyakriti rode her current mount, Adrenaline, for the first time. “I was at the stables of this Danish owner who was still riding Storm and was a dressage superstar. I felt honored to be trusted with such a significant role when I was given the responsibility of caring for and feeding Adrenaline.
The collaboration would begin four days prior to the testing.
“He instilled in me the confidence to ride in a large stadium. There were times when I questioned whether things would ever improve. But we would start over the following morning at six in the freezing, snowy winters, she recalls.
Her parents taught her to love horses, and Divyakriti considers her father to be her greatest mentor. “When things did not go as planned, my mother stayed up late into the night to hear me cry. She owes me a lot. Everyone wants gold, but when it actually happened, it seemed unbelievable.
advancing to the top
Anush Agarwalla, 23, Kolkata
Anush Agarwalla has a history of being critical of himself. He recalls a pleasant upbringing that included starting to ride horses in Tollygunge and attending La Martiniere School in Kolkata with his father, uncle, and cousins. But he was never less than fiercely competitive and had a hard time conceding defeat. Even after winning a gold medal in Hangzhou, he would criticize his own shortcomings until he ultimately gave up and let joy and relief wash over him.
The horse-obsessed person, who traveled to Delhi every school weekend from the age of 11 to 16, adds, “Being so critical of myself is part of who I am. Thankfully, he explains, “my family understood my dream.” Additionally, he had significant pockets to support an expensive passion, which paid off when he guaranteed India’s gold.
But Anush recalls those gloomy times. At first, he claims, no one in Europe was interested in training him. “Due to my poor level,”
The German coach then bestowed some realism on him after he informed him in 2017 that his goal was to make the Asiad team in 2018. “‘Anush, you’re crazy,’ he remarked. How awful you are, look at yourself. He was merely being sincere.
Anush claims that when he eventually failed to qualify, he became depressed. “I find it hard to admit defeat. I couldn’t sleep at night and was depressed for months,” he remembers. Things became worse when he moved up to the Grand Prix level in Europe and realized he wouldn’t qualify for the Tokyo Olympics until December 31, 2019.
“By October, following my fourth qualifying race, I realized I simply wasn’t good enough. I didn’t leave the house, I wasn’t social. I never felt as though I was having fun while riding. I was mortified and took that failure personally, he continues.
His loved ones had to yank him out of the dark period. “That’s how I like to be. He says, finally joyful, “And it’s the same determination that brought me the gold today.
In addition to moving to Europe to improve his riding, he also had to learn to be independent, which was difficult for someone used to a protected life. “I hadn’t even started cooking when I was made to learn how to cook and clean in Germany. I had a terrible first year because I didn’t speak the language. I was by myself, without friends, and need no assistance from any personnel when cooking.
In the stables, there was also a lot of learning to be done. “Cleaning boxes, saddle-up, paddock work, and grazing the horses. I was accomplishing a lot when I was doing nothing in Kolkata,” he remembers.
Since February, there has been a relatively recent relationship with Ethro. “All the work contributed to the strong bond I developed with my horse.”
taking note of the horse
Mumbai native Hriday Vipul Chheda, 25
There was a race to see who could get the best score — and Tuesday was the winner.
Equestrian rules state that if the temperature gets beyond 33 degrees, events must end. There appeared to be a one-hour hold on the competition.
But as unpleasant as competing in the oppressive heat could have been, Chheda, Chemxpro Emerald, and India’s prospects of winning the gold medal would have been disastrous had they continued after the hour-long break. This is due to the fact that, unlike the typical high-performance athlete, a horse cannot be trained to go through its lengthy warm-up ritual again throughout the day.
“Our 30-minute warm-up program had already been completed. We asked the technical representatives to be considerate of the horse and let us enter the competition area. After an hour, we didn’t want to repeat the half-hour warm-up. So they let me fight, and after I finished, they took an hour off, says Chheda, a resident of Mumbai’s affluent Juhu district.
While the authorities were persuaded, Chheda still needed to persuade his gelding.
Chemxpro Emerald became nervous as the team was about to enter the competition area.
“The energy in the ring really freaked out my horse. People were everywhere! You don’t encounter this atmosphere every day. Therefore, you can’t prepare for it. He was really frightened and reluctant to enter the arena. To give him the confidence, I had to really push him, says the 25-year-old.
Based on his previous experience riding horses since he was six years old, Chheda sought to win back his steed’s trust during those uneasy moments.
“I would turn him around and go the other way whenever he would stop and struggle to move in one direction. After doing this twice, then three times, I was eventually able to regain his trust. If not, we wouldn’t have received this medal today,” continues Chheda.
alone and away from home
21, Indore resident Sudipti Hajela
Sudipti Hajela finds it difficult to recall when she last went home.
“Let’s just say that it has been a very long time. I’ve been living abroad, notably in France, for the previous two years at least, where I’ve been training for the Asian Games. After joining the historic Indian dressage team in Hangzhou, Hajela tells The Indian Express that it has been a tough journey.
Hajela has been living in the French town of Pamfou since last year, where she attends Pamfou Dressage, a dressage-only equestrian facility established in 1978. Just to practice with Camillee Judet Cheret, who also coaches the French Olympic squad, Hajela has been residing there.
Since elite events regularly take place in Europe, it makes financial sense for a rising Indian rider eager for competitive exposure to be stationed there. This is especially true when one must frequently transport the horse.
The Indian dressage team’s youngest member claims that training in France feels different from training in India. She needs to be more hands-on while caring for the horses at the stables there, whereas in India she didn’t have to do much of that.
There, we are required to complete every task. It’s a daylong task. I didn’t have the habit of caring for the horse, so at first it felt a little strange to me. But with time, everything turned out, said the 21-year-old.
On Tuesday at the Tonglu Equestrian Center, it didn’t matter that Hajela hadn’t worked with her horse Chinski in a while.
“I believe he has the appropriate level of energy for dressage. In times of stress, he maintains his composure very well. She says, “I can trust him, and he can trust me.
She was just getting her summer ‘passion’ / ‘hobby’ / ‘hobby’ / ‘hobby’.
“I basically got into it as a hobby. I never thought it would win a gold medal at the Asian Games.
