India won its third gold medal of the ongoing Asian Games as Anush Agarwalla, Hriday Vipul Chheda, Sudipti Hajela and Divyakriti Singh finished on top in Equestrian (Team Dressage event) on Tuesday. This was India's first gold medal in Equestrian since the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. The Indian team finished on top with 209.205 points, with China and Hong Kong finishing second and third, respectively. On Monday, men's 10m air rifle team won the first gold medal of the ongoing games, with the women's cricket team bagging a second.
What is Team Dressage event in Equestrian?
As per Equestrian Australia, "In Dressage competitions, horse and rider perform a series of predetermined movements, known as 'figures' or "movements" in an arena of either 20x60 metres or occasionally 20x40 metres. The arena has 12 lettered markers placed symmetrically indicating where movements are to start and finish and where changes of pace or lead are to occur. In all competitions, the horse has to show the three paces: walk, trot and canter as well as smooth transitions within and between these paces. At Grand Prix level very collected movements such as Piaffe and Passage (see Dressage movements at the bottom of this page) are required."
Equestrian is performed both as an individual event and as a team event.
Each team is made up of three or four combinations riding at any level, with each pair riding a test and the best three scores contributing to the overall team total.
For India, Anush Agarwalla and his horse ETRO scored the maximum score at 71.088 while Hriday Chheda-Emerald scored 69.941. Divyakriti Singh-Adrenalin Firdod scored 68.176. Sudipti Hajela-Chinski scored 66.706.
India finished with a score of 209.205 which was significantly higher than second-placed China's 204.882. Anush Agarwalla stole the show with a score of 71.088 while Hriday scored 69.941 and Divyakriti scored 68.176. Together, they have ensured that no team even comes close to their combined score.
They defeated the likes of China and Japan, who were absolute favourites to win this.
(With ANI Inputs)