Indian riders dejected despite first ever medal at Tent Pegging World Cup

The four-member Indian equestrian team of Mohit Kumar (Navy), Dinesh Karlekar (Assam Rifles), Havildar Gautam Atta (ASC), Dfr. Mohammed Abrar (61st Cavalry) and Dr. Amit Chhetri (ITBP) won a first ever medal for the country at the Tent Pegging World Cup in South Africa, but they are bitterly disappointed at missing out on the gold and losing out to Pakistan for the silver medal.

Tent Pegging is a cavalry sport wherein the rider is supposed to pick a wooden block, placed on the ground, with a spear.

The Indians entered the final day of the competition with a realistic chance of winning a gold medal but a brief spell of rain coupled with gutsy winds changed the conditions completely. The strip became slippery, the strong wind caused the sword to sway at the time of lifting the peg, and the sawdust arising out of horses’ strides began to enter the eyes. As a result, the Indian team missed the pegs in the last three runs.

The team were just 12 points behind Saudi Arabia and four points from silver medallist Pakistan on the final tally.

“It indeed is a satisfactory show for us but the gold in the team event was ours. The conditions suddenly turned treacherous. The riders were in tears. I had to console them. They could not believe that conditions robbed them,” India coach, Colonel Satinder Singh Solanki told PTI.

“The organisers wanted to stop the competition due to rain but we wanted to fight and win gold, so we went for it,” he added.

The Indian team had finished sixth and seventh respectively in the previous two World Cups.

Captain Amit Chhetri said they went into the competition as underdogs and surprised everyone. “No one thought we will run the top teams close. We kept on adding points.”

(With PTI inputs)