On Thursday, at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, Anush Agarwalla from India secured the bronze medal in individual dressage in equestrian, marking Agarwalla’s second medal at the Hangzhou 2023 Games. Previously, he had teamed up with Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh, and Sudipti Hajela to clinch a historic team dressage gold medal, which was India’s first top finish in equestrian at the continental competition since 1982.
Competing in the final intermediate 1 freestyle section of dressage at the Tonglu Equestrian Centre, Anush Agarwalla and his horse Etro achieved an average score of 73.030, with 69.900 in the technical segment and 76.160 in the artistic segment, securing them third place in the rankings.
The gold medal was claimed by Malaysian veteran Qabil Ambak, who achieved a score of 75.780, while Jacqueline Wing Ying Siu from Hong Kong China secured the silver with a score of 73.450. Notably, Siu had previously emerged as the gold medalist in the same event at the Jakarta 2018 Games, whereas Qabil Ambak had earned a silver medal during that competition.
Unfortunately, India’s Hriday Chheda, who had topped the intermediate 1 stage on Thursday, was eliminated in the final freestyle round for the medals. Divyakriti Singh, who had finished 11th in the intermediate 1 stage, did not qualify for Thursday’s medal round. Sudipti Hajela, on the other hand, was eliminated in the intermediate 1 stage and did not advance to the freestyle segment.
Anush Agarwalla’s bronze medal on Thursday marked India’s 17th medal in equestrian at the Asian Games, but it was the first-ever in the individual dressage category.
