Revision as of 21:22, 22 February 2024

India at the Olympics

The Times of India

Indian riders who competed at the Summer Games (all of them were in eventing disciplines)

Jitendrajit Singh Ahluwalia, Hussain Singh, Mohammed Khan and Darya Singh (Moscow 1980),

Indrajit Lamba (Atlanta 1996),

Imtiaaz Anees (Sydney 2000)

Fouaad Mirza (Tokyo 2020)

All of them were in eventing disciplines.

In 2024 India won its first Olympic quota in dressage through Anush Agarwalla

YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS

1982, 1986, 1994

Raghuveer Singh Shekhawat

Biswajyoti Brahma, Sep 27, 2023: The Times of India

New Delhi: As echoes of India’s gold medal in equestrian at the ongoing Asian Games trickled into Patoda village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, a 72-year-old resident found himself going back in time. This ride down memory lane was a gentle trot, not a canter or a gallop.


Forty-one years ago, at the memorable New Delhi Asian Games of 1982, Raghuveer Singh Shekhawat had won himself the distinction of finishing on top in eventing, the first Indian to do so when equestrian was making its debut at the Games.

Astride his loyal Shahzada, at Delhi-82, Shekhawat was on the podium not once, but twice – individual and team. Since then, the country has won a handful of silver and bronze medals in the sport at the continental event, but not another gold till Tuesday’s feat in Hangzhou. India had also won a third gold in the sport in 1982.

“Today is a momentous occasion. It gives me immense pleasure to see my fellow Indians finish on the top of the podium again after such a long time,” Shekhawat told TOI over the phone from Patoda.

“It still feels like yesterday,” he said, when asked about his achievement 41 years ago, when he, just 31 then, became a household name in Rajasthan. “I was a daffadar (hawaldaar) in the army. We used to take part in few competitions here and there. One day we were told to be prepared for an upcoming event. We had little idea what Asian Games were or what its significance held. I even did not know that equestrian qualified as a sport. ”

Shekhawat and his team were told to give everything to win. “After the competition, I was asked by journalists what I felt about the win, I said, ‘This is my routine. I do it every day. ’

“We prepared for about two years and participated normally as we would in other competition. I managed to win two gold (individual eventing and team with Ghulam Mohammed Khan, Bishal Singh and Milkha Singh),” said Sekhawat.

Shekhawat turned a little emo- tional talking about the horse, Shahzada, who helped him create history. “We had local Indian horses then. Shahzada was my horse and it was from Uttar Pradesh. We came together in 1980 and stayed till 1988 when I retired from the army. It was something of a father-son relation. I used to ride it for two to three hours every day but was at its service for almost 20 hours a day, taking care of it. I even used to sleep in the stable if it fell ill,” he remembered.

How did the twin gold medals change his life? “I became an instant hero in my village. Even before the event I had gained some popularity in Patoda as people would travel to watch me in action on TV. My father, also an armyman, travelled 40km from my village to Jhunjhunu to see it all on TV. The win brought me fame and I got Rs 50,000 for each medal from the state government,” said Shekhawat who later rode at Seoul 1986 (two bronze) and Hiroshima 1994 Asian Games.

Shekhawat said his association with Shahzada ended when he retired from the army. “Shahzada was given to others after my retirement and it took part in other competitions. Once while returning after an event in 1991, it met with an accident near Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and unfortunately had to be euthanised. ”

2019

Mirza 3rd Indian to seal Olympic berth

Nov 23, 2019: The Times of India

Double Asian Games medallist equestrian Fouaad Mirza secured an Olympic quota after finishing as the top-ranked rider in his group in the qualifiers, ending a wait spanning nearly two decades. The 27-year-old was the highest ranked rider in Group G for the South East Asia, Oceania in the individual eventing category after the end of the Europe stage earlier this month.

However, the official confirmation will be announced by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) on February 20.

Imtiaz Anees (2000 Sydney) and Late Wing Commander IJ Lamba (1996 Atlanta) are the only Indians to have represented the country at the Olympics.

Mirza, who was honoured with the Arjuna Award in August, finished with a total of 64 points from six qualifying events. PTI

2021

4 Indian horsemen suspended by ITPF for impersonation

Sabi Hussain, Nov 21, 2021: The Times of India

Four horsemen of Indian nationality represented Nepal at the Tent Pegging World Cup qualification event in Greater Noida in March 2021

Eventing cross country, one star class

2023

Raju Singh, Bhadoria wins gold

Ramendra Singh, April 10, 2023: The Times of India

BHOPAL: An 18-year-old farm boy from Madhya Pradesh cornered glory by galloping to an equestrian gold in Paris. Raju Singh Bhadoria, a farmer’s son from MP’s Bhind, won the eventing cross-country one-star class in Grosbois.

Riding the horse Louk, the class 12 student clinched gold with a penalty of 23. French riders Frederic Gremont and Alexia Russel Sauque took the other two spots on the podium with penalties of 28 and 29.

When TOI called the soft-spoken Raju on Sunday evening, he began with, “Kya bolun (what do I say)?” Coaxed to say how he prepared for the competition, he said: “My aim is always to keep winning medals for the country, wherever I compete. Keeping things simple helps me stay focused. That’s all I did.”

The boy “who came with nothing” to Bhopal was happier to talk about how the MP Equestrian Academy helped him at every step – from spotting his talent early on to buying a thoroughbred for his event.

“I am thankful to the government of Madhya Pradesh, coach Bhagirath sir and my family for showing confidence in me,” said Raju.

Raju is now training under French coach Regis Prudhon and preparing for the 2023 Asian Games 2023. He is the youngest of four riders to make the Asiad cut.

It all started in 2015 when Raju and his father Sujan Singh Bhadoria came to visit the boy’s maternal uncle, Arvind Singh, who works as a caretaker in the MP Equestrian Academy. Till then, he hadn’t stepped out of Bhind’s Harpal Ka Pura village, some 500km from Bhopal.

For the 11-year-old village boy, the academy seemed like “paradise”. He turned out to be a natural at horsemanship and was picked up at a talent hunt that year, said chief coach of the academy, Captain Bhagirath.

The awards came in a gallop – including best rider, twice, at the national level, and Eklavya Award of Madhya Pradesh government in 2020. In May 2022, Raju was chosen for specialized training under UK coaches and a ‘warmblood’ eventing horse was bought for him.

Kentucky Derby

2020: Gaurav Rampal co-owned the winner

Shailendra Awasthi, This yr’s Kentucky Derby winner is ‘co-owned’ by Indian, September 7, 2020: The Times of India

When three-yearold colt Authentic beat the hot favourite Tiz The Law to win the Kentucky Derby, the big daddy of American thoroughbred racing, Pedder Road resident Gaurav Rampal was over the moon. The 41-year-old bloodstock agent had become the first Indian co-owner of a Kentucky Derby winner.

Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by John Velazquez, Authentic was third in demand in a 15-horse field, the smallest since 1998. “Due to travel restrictions I couldn’t travel to the US, but I enjoyed every moment of Authentic’s upset win here in Mumbai,” Rampal told TOI. Rampal, however, was not the only owner of Authentic who was celebrating. There were 4,200 of them!

The 4,200 ‘micro-owners’ of Authentic were watching him win from their homes. For the first time in its 146-year history, the stands at Churchill Downs were empty thanks to Covid-19.

“There is a Californiabased company called MyRaceHorse which promotes micro-ownerships. They had a 12.5% share in Authentic and they were selling 12,500 shares at $206 apiece. I was aware of the colt’s pedigree apart from the fact that he had won four of his five previous starts. So, I decided to invest and bought a share on June 29,” said Rampal, who is one of the leading bloodstock agents in India. Apart from MyRacehorse founder Michael Behrens, B Wayne Hughes holds a majority share in Authentic.

So how much will each micro-owner get from Authentic’s victory? It’s not easy to figure it out. The total purse is $3 million, of which the winner lands $1.8 million. The jockey and trainer each get 10% of the purse while other expenses, such as barn rental fees and veterinary bills, may be paid from the winnings. MyRaceHorse will get 12.5% of what’s left, and that money will go to the micro-owners, based on how many shares they own.

“That may be a small amount but that’s immaterial. When you are one of the owners of the Kentucky Derby winner, it means a lot to me,” said Rampal. The picking of a winner of this prestigious race will certainly enhance his professional image as a bloodstock agent. Rampal was also instrumental in buying the 2014 Indian Derby winner Alaindair for his owners.