Asian Games medallist Anush Agarwalla has clinched a Paris Olympics quota for the country in the dressage discipline, as announced by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) on Monday.
Agarwalla, who secured a historic individual dressage bronze in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, earned the quota based on his performance in four FEI events—Wroclaw, Poland (73.485%), Kronenberg, Netherlands (74.4%), Frankfurt, Germany (72.9%), and Mechelen, Belgium (74.2%).
The quota is attributed to the country, and the EFI will conduct a final trial to determine the Indian entry for the Paris Olympics.
Expressing his pride, the 24-year-old Agarwalla stated in a release, "I am very proud and grateful to have been successful in securing a berth for India at the Paris Olympic Games. Competing in the Olympics has always been a childhood dream for me, and I'm proud to be part of this historical moment for the nation."
Agarwalla expressed optimism about retaining the quota, saying, "I will continue doing what I have always been doing: staying focused, being disciplined, working hard, setting goals, and achieving them. I am confident that I will be selected to represent India at this prestigious stage."
EFI Secretary General Col Jaiveer Singh congratulated Agarwalla on his achievement.
The history of Indian representation in the Olympics includes Darya Singh (1980 Moscow), Indrajit Lamba (1996 Atlanta), Imtiaz Anees (2000 Sydney), and Fouaad Mirza (2022 Tokyo).
In the dressage event, the rider-horse combination performs in an arena measuring 20m x 60m, bordered by a low rail which the horse must stay within. The arena features 12 lettered markers placed symmetrically, indicating where the movements are to start, where the pace changes are to occur, and where the movements will end.
The event comprises seven stages—preliminary, elementary, medium, advanced medium, advanced, Prix St George, and Intermediate-I. Scoring is done on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 indicates very bad and 10 is excellent.
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