Asian Games Equestrian: 'Stupid' moment leads to topper Ashish Limaye's elimination

After finishing on top in the Eventing Cross Country individual event overnight, Ashish Limaye was disqualified in the second round after he missed the jumps on Sunday. 

"This happens in high-level sports. He is a good rider. He has experience. He jumped the first two fences and after the combination he turned left to go outside (the route), forgot to turn right," India Eventing coach Rodolphe Scherer said after the event.

Following his elimination, Ashish finished at the bottom of the standings behind Japan's Kenta Hiranaga, who had also been eliminated from the competition.

Asked when Ashish realised he had missed the jumps, Scherer said, "I told him afterward and he said he was 'stupid' but I do not think he was stupid. Big pressure on the brain. That can happen in your life. I am very sad for him that it happened. Not a good day. I'm so sorry for him."

"He walked the course five times this morning. He had seen all the riders before and had a really big expectation. Just one second the brain is dead," the 51-year-old added.

Medal hope alive 

Ashish's medal hope, however, is not over yet, with he competing in the Eventing Jumping Team and Individual final on Monday.

"The problem is that the Indian team is only three riders and now because one is out, the team is out because you need three riders. Now I hope he will ride nicely in showjumping tomorrow to have a nice individual place," said Scherer.

Ashish's disqualification also means he missed a medal in the individual as well as team events. Apurva Dabhade, the other Indian in the competition, finished sixth in the individual event with 29.60 points.

In the team event, also featuring Vikash Kumar, India finished at the bottom among five teams, with China and Japan occupying the top two positions.