Anush Agarwalla confirmed as India’s equestrian representative for Paris 2024 Olympics

Anush Agarwalla will be India’s lone representative in equestrian at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He will compete in the dressage event.

Agarwalla pipped close contender Shruti Vora based on a better average after careful evaluation of recent performances by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).

Agarwalla will be India's first-ever entry at the dressage event at the Olympics. Indian equestrians have previously competed only in the eventing categories at the Summer Games. He obtained the Olympics quota in February.

Since the beginning of the qualification period last year, Agarwalla achieved the Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) four times, while veteran Shruti Vora earned the required two MERs this month.

The Minimum Eligibility Requirements stipulate a rider to compete in specific competitions, with prescribed performance parameters like maximum allowed penalty points and time limits, in order to compete at an international event.

When an average was taken out of the contenders in the assessment, Agarwalla emerged as the winner with an average score of 67.695 percent while Vora averaged 67.163.

As per the criteria set by the Federation, a rider-horse combination is required to achieve a minimum of 67 percent twice between January 1, 2023, and June 24, 2024, to be eligible for Paris 2024.

According to the EFI’s selection criteria, if more than one athlete is eligible for qualification then the athlete with the highest average in Grand Prix out of the best four events in the past year shall be chosen to participate. Scores at only three-star FEI level competitions and above are counted.

Anush Agarwalla and Shruti Vora’s scores were achieved at shows from 2023 to 2024 list of MER events. Vora (with horse Magnanimous) had earned her second MER of the year with her second-place finish at the Brno Grand Prix in Czechia where she scored 68.174 in the dressage event, becoming eligible for Olympic qualification.

Shruti had earned her first MER of 67.761 earlier this month when she became the first Indian rider to win a three-star Grand Prix event at the Dressage World Cup held in Lipica, Slovenia. Her other two GP performances had scores of 66.543 percent and 66.174 percent which were below the MER.

Anush Agarwalla, meanwhile, achieved the MER four times - 67.936 percent (Wiesbaden, May 2024), 68.261 percent (Mechelen, December 2023), 67.152 percent (Frankfurt, December 2023) and 67.804 percent (Wroclaw, October 2023).

The decision was taken unanimously by the EFI’s Executive Council.

Fouaad Mirza had represented India at Tokyo 2020. Before him, Imtiaz Anees competed in the Sydney 2000 Olympics while Indrajit Lamba took the field at Atlanta 1996. Jitendrajit Sngh Ahluwalia, Hussain Singh, Mohammed Khan and Darya Singh had all competed at the 1980 Moscow Games.

The equestrian events at the Paris 2024 Olympics will begin on July 27.