4 Indian equestrian riders qualify for Asian Games

Four Indian equestrian riders have qualified for the show jumping event for next year's Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China.

Pranay Khare, Kaevaan Setalvad, Zahan Setalvad and Yashaan Khambatta emerged on top in the selection trials organized by the Equestrian Federation of India at the Embassy International Riding School in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The equestrian riders will be accompanied by five horses - Vanilla Sky, Alasdair, Quintus Z, Lorenzo and El Capitan.

Both Kaevaan Setalvad and Zahan Setalvad had represented India at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

Read: PETA asks IOC to remove Equestrian from Olympics programme

The qualifier for the Asian Games is a maximum of eight penalties in two rounds in the 1.40 meters (team qualification) and twelve penalties in 1.50 meters (individual qualification).

The best scores in two of the three trials will be considered.

Show jumping equestrian selection trials conclude

The selection trials for the show jumping event began on October 22 and concluded on October 27.

Show-jumping, an Olympic and Asian Games discipline, consists of obstacles called jumps in an area of 65m x 40m. There are two categories of competitions over two rounds — first it's at 1.40m and after two days of rest another two rounds follow at 1.5m.

The selection trials were judged by three international judges – Ribot Domnique Hugues, International Level 3 FEI Jumping Jury from France, Col. R S Yadav, International level 3 jumping judge from India and Christian Schacht, International Level 3 FEI judge from Germany.

The judges were accompanied by one international course designer from Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) – Magdolna Erdelyi.

In the show jumping trials, Yashaan, along with Lorenzo, finished at the top position in the 1.40m competition, followed by Zahan with Quintus Z.

Zahan also grabbed the third spot with El Capitan.

In 1.50m, Pranay finished on top with Vanilla Sky, while Kaevaan and Zahan finished second and third along with Alasdair and Quintus Z.

Speaking at the selection trials, Jitu Virwani of Embassy Group said:

“Our aim is to put India on the international equestrian map. EIRS has always been committed to creating a competitive impact on the rising popularity of the sport in India. EIRS is privileged to host global championships such as the trials for the Asian Games 2022 at our international-standards facility. We are looking forward to yet another phenomenal performance from our riders and their equine partners.”

The selection trials for equestrian dressage discipline got underway on October 27 and the results will be known on October 29.

The Asian Games will be held from September 10-25 in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.