Anush Agarwalla will be the sole representative from India, making his journey to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris a unique and inspiring one. He will be competing in the dressage event.
Following a meticulous assessment of recent results by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), Agarwalla narrowly defeated close competitor Shruti Vora based on a higher average.
Agarwalla will represent India in the Olympic dressage competition for the first time. Indian riders have only ever participated in the Summer Games’ eventing divisions. In February, he met his Olympic quota.
Since the qualification period started last year, Agarwalla has met the minimum eligibility requirement (MER) four times, while seasoned candidate Shruti Vora met the requirement this month with two MERs.
To compete at an international event, a rider must meet the Minimum Eligibility Requirements, which specify that they must compete in particular competitions with performance requirements such as time limitations and the maximum amount of penalty points that can be awarded.
After calculating the average score for each competitor, Agarwalla came out on top with an average of 67.695 per cent, while Vora averaged 67.163.
According to the Federation’s rules, a rider-horse combination must score at least 67 per cent twice between January 1, 2023, and June 24, 2024, to qualify for Paris 2024.
If many athletes meet the EFI’s qualifying requirements, the athlete with the highest Grand Prix average over the top four events of the previous year will be selected to compete. Only three-star FEI level competitions and higher are taken into account for scoring.
Anush Agarwalla and Shruti Vora’s scores were gained at shows from the 2023 to 2024 list of MER events. With her second-place finish at the Brno Grand Prix in Czechia, where she scored 68.174 in the dressage event and qualified for the Olympics, Vora (with her horse Magnanimous) had achieved her second MER of the year.
Earlier this month, Shruti became the first Indian rider to win a three-star Grand Prix event at the Dressage World Cup in Lipica, Slovenia, earning her maiden MER of 67.761. Her scores for her other two GP efforts, below the MER, were 66.543 per cent and 66.174 per cent.
In contrast, Anush Agarwalla reached the MER four times: in Wiesbaden in May 2024 (67.936 per cent), in Mechelen in December 2023 (68.261 per cent), in Frankfurt in December 2023 (67.152 per cent), and in Wroclaw in October 2023 (67.804 per cent).
The Executive Council of the EFI made the decision unanimously.
India was represented by Fouaad Mirza in Tokyo in 2020. Imtiaz Anees competed in the Olympics in Sydney in 2000, whereas Indrajit Lamba was the competitor in Atlanta in 1996. Darya Singh, Hussain Singh, Mohammed Khan, and Jitendrajit Singh Ahluwalia had all participated in the 1980 Moscow Games.
On July 27, the Olympic equestrian competition in Paris 2024 will begin.
Anush Agarwalla statement
“The feeling is amazing. Playing in an Olympic game has always been a childhood dream. I am really happy to have achieved this at 24 years old. It feels special that India will have an equestrian athlete at the Olympic games for the first time in history. I am confident this will motivate the young generation to take the sport more seriously. I am happy about the development of the sport in India in the past few years. I am proud and confident; the future looks bright.”
