Jaipur's Divyakriti Singh to represent Indian equestrian team at Asian Games in dressage

JAIPUR: The Equestrian Federation of India has announced the Indian dressage team for the forthcoming 19th Asian Games slated to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23. Divyakriti Singh from Jaipur has been selected in the Indian team.

An elated Divyakirti, who is an alumnus of The Palace School, Jaipur and Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer, said "It's a proud moment for me to be selected to represent India at the Asian Games. To compete at the Asian Games has been a dream for me and I know that I share this dream with so many riders back home. It is a humbling experience, and I am grateful to my horses, trainers and the Indian federation."

The other team members are Anush Agarwalla from Kolkata, Sudipti Hajela from Indore and Pune's Hriday Cheda. The dressage competitions for the Individual and Team category are scheduled to take place from September 26 to 30 at the Tonglu Equestrian Centre in Hangzhou.

The selection trials for the shortlisted Indian riders had taken place over the last three months in Europe. All the probable players had to undergo a strenuous training and competing routine and were asked to compete against best international talent in international dressage competitions judged by international jury comprising Federation Equestrian International (FEI) star rated judges. The riders performed well in the trials and pulled off remarkable competition scores. The team's aggregate scores are at par with silver/gold medal winning scores of the last three Asian Games in 2018, 2014 & 2010.

All the riders selected have been based in Europe for the last two years with their horses. As per the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Dressage rankings released earlier this year, Divyakriti was ranked No. 14 in the world and No. 1 in Asia earlier this year.