India clinch equestrian team dressage gold at Asian Games after 41 years

India clinched its third gold medal as the equestrian team secured the top spot on the podium in the dressage event.

Hangzhou (China): India claimed the team dressage gold in equestrian sport at the Asian Games here on Tuesday, breaking a 41-year-old jinx at the continental event.

Divyakriti Singh astride Adrenalin Firfod, Hriday Vipul Chhed (Chemxpro Emerald) and Anush Agarwalla (Etro) aggregated 209.205 per cent points to take India to the top position in the finals. Sudipti Hajela was also part of the team, but her score was not counted as only the event's top three scorers are considered. China finished as runner-up with 204.882 percentage points, while Hong Kong fetched the bronze with 204.852 points.

The contingent including Agarwalla, Chheda, Divyakriti and Hajela stepped up to the occasion when it mattered the most. Anush Agarwalla and his horse ETRO scored the maximum score at 71.088 while Hriday Chheda-Emerald registered a score of 69.941. Divyakriti Singh-Adrenalin Firdod registered scores of 68.176 while Sudipti Hajela-Chinski came up with a score of 66.706. Thanks to a clinical team effort, India beat China and Japan who were considered to be firm favourites to bag gold before the start of the event.

It is the first time in the sport's history that India secured a team gold in a dressage event. The last medal in dressage, a bronze, came during the 1986 edition. It is India's maiden gold medal in the dressage event and thus, they created a historic moment. The last medal in the event for India was bronze in the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi.