Among many firsts at the 2024 Paris Olympics, India will have a representation in the Dressage event of Equestria for the first time in history.
The event will feature Kolkata-born rider Anush Agarwalla who achieved the Olympic quota following a stellar performance at the International events.
Riding the horse Sir Caramello Old, Agarwalla scored 73.485% in Poland and followed it up 74.4% in the Netherlands. In Germany, he managed 72.9% and scored 74.2% in Belgium.
He will be the eighth Indian rider equestrian to participate in the Olympics, the first in the dressage category, and the other seven in the eventing category.
A childhood affliction
Agarwalla’s passion for the sport began when he was introduced to riding at the tender age of three at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.
What was initially a leisurely activity during the weekend soon turned into a passionate affliction toward the sport of riding.
Anush started his formal training when he was just eight years old and competing at the local level. He quickly rose through the ranks becoming the best in his age group.
He moved out of Kolkata and shifted to Delhi to compete at higher levels and improve in the sport and he soon began making a lot of noise, winning multiple medals at the Delhi Horse Show 2014.
Dressage
Being a niche sport in the country, Equestrian is a very expensive sport.
Dressage is an event where the rider and horse are scored based on a series of movements and each movement is marked out of 10, and a percentage worked out of the scores at the end of all movements.
It is an expensive category of the already expensive sport and with the lack of availability of good coaches, Agarwalla’s career was unable to get to the next level, even after moving to Delhi from Kolkata.
It is for this reason that Agarwalla, aged just 17 at this point, decided to shift to Germany and pursue training from there. A bold move that has paid rich dividends for the 25-year-old.
Since moving to Germany and under the tutelage of German Olympian Hubertus Schmidt, his career took off.
Giant strides
Agarwalla’s first taste of international competition came at the 2022 Dressage World Championships.
He was the first Indian dressage rider, alongside Shruti Vora, to compete in the event.
Competing along with 76 other riders in the dressage category, he finished 71st, with a score of 63.857%, a good learning experience for young Agarwalla.
His breakthrough came in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, where he won gold in the dressage team event along with Sudipti Hajela, Divyakritib, and Hriday Vipul.
It was India’s first gold in equestrian in 41 years and the first-ever medal in the dressage category.
He also won bronze in the individual event, becoming India’s first-ever individual medal winner in the sport, a moment to savor for young Anush Agarwalla.
Major achievements of Agarwalla
2023 Asian Games, Hangzhou
Gold in team dressage
Bronze in individual dressage
It will be a historic moment for the entire country when Agarwalla, sitting atop Sir Caramello Old, steps onto the field at Château de Versailles in Paris, as the 24-year-old will carry the nation’s pride in the dressage event for the first time in the Olympic Games.