India landed a third gold medal the Asian Games 2023 when on Tuesday its Equestrian team secured a top-of-the-podium finish in the dressage event. Anush Agarwalla, Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh, Sudipti Hajela and their respective horses combined to score 209.205 and landed India its first gold in the sport after 41 years. At the 1982 Games in New Delhi, Raghubir Singh had won a gold in eventing individual, while the last medal in dressage, a bronze, came during the 1986 edition.
The Indian team staged a remarkable comeback after dropping to third place in the initial period. allowing China and Hong Kong to go ahead. Still in contention of 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 and Emerald (horse name) scored 69.941, Divyakriti and Adrenalin Firdod (horse) got 68.176, while Sudipti and Chinski (horse) secured 66.706 to finally end India’s wait for a gold on Day 3 of the Games.
