Who is Hriday Vipul Chheda? All you need to know about India’s gold medalist in Dressage

Hriday Vipul Chheda was a part of history in the Asian Games 2023. On Tuesday, September 26, India won the gold medal in the Team Dressage event in the equestrian sports. Apart from Vipul, the team also comprised Anush Agarwalla, Divyakriti Singh, and Sudipti Hajela.

India won their maiden gold medal in the equestrian sport in 41 years. Hriday and his horse, Emerald, scored 69.941. India finished with 209.25 and outplayed China, who got a score of 204.882. Agarwalla (ETRO), Divyakriti (Adrenalin Firdod), and Hajela (Chinksi) finished with 71.088, 68.176, and 66.706 points respectively.

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Hriday Vipul Chheda making a name in Asian Games 2023

Born in Mumbai on July 24, 1998, Chheda trains in France under coach Corentin Pottier. Since the age of six, Chheda has been plying his trade in the sport. He has also honed his skills under trainers, including Emma McLean, Hannes Baumgart, and Johan Zagers. He also spent one year with Emile Faurie, who took part for Britain, back in 2017.

Last year, Chheda made a move to Germany where he trained under renowned coach Leonie Bramall, who donned the Canadian colors in the Atlanta and Barcelona Olympic games.

In 2015, Chheda notched his maiden big achievement after winning the National Championship Prix in St George. Seven years later in 2022, he came up trumps in the CDI3* Motesice (SVK) Intermediate 1 freestyle. In fact, Chheda is the only India to have won the CDI event at the international level.

Earlier this year, Chheda achieved second and third places in the CDI* Hagen Intermediate 1 in Germany and CDI 1* Hagen Prix in St George respectively.

Having now achieved a gold medal for his country, Chheda has witnessed the highest point of his career of now. It remains to be seen if he can take the sport to a new level for India.