“Riders Were in Tears”: Equestrian Coach Highlights on Team’s Historic Performance Despite Treacherous Conditions

The sport of equestrian is all about holding your ground and not giving up. This beautiful sport has witnessed several such stories of resilience and dedication. One such story comes from the tent pegging grounds, where a team won an esteemed event in spite of perilous conditions. Tent pegging is one of the major parts of various equestrian disciplines. The International Tent Pegging Federation has an organizing committee that is responsible for coordinating a range of tent pegging events every year.

Once again this year, the ITPF orchestrated the World Cup in South Africa, attracting participants from numerous nations. It was a great event in general, but the finals of the World Cup didn’t go too well for the organizers and for the participants as well. Team Saudi Arabia was declared the winner, while Team India secured third place. As per the reports, the Indian team is heartbroken due to the rapid change in weather conditions that hampered the result of the competition.

What went wrong?

As reported by Sportstar, even though it was a historic event for the Indian team, they were able to secure a bronze in the finals. So the incident happened during the finals when the Indian team stepped into the arena to win the gold, which was also well within their reach.

They were only 12 points short of team Saudi Arabia, but luck had it and the conditions took a rapid change in a jiffy. The rain started to pour out of nowhere, followed by wild winds, which ultimately changed the fate of the Indian team as well.

As a result of this change in weather, the track became slippery, and the winds led the sword to sway while lifting the peg. This was followed by dust kicked up by the horses’ strides infiltrating the eyes of the participants.

In the end, the Indian team could only manage to secure bronze. The team of Mohit Kumar, Dinesh Karlekar, Gautam Atta, Mohammed Abrar, and Dr. Amit Chhetri fell short of securing the silver.

It was also reported that when the latter two teams took turns in their final performance, the rain and wind had stopped. Colonel Satinder Singh Solanki, the coach of the Indian team, stated, “The riders were in tears. I had to console them. They could not believe that conditions robbed them.” Apart from this, the Indian team also won two bronze medals on the second and third days of the event.

Further updates on the equestrian event

The coach also stated that everyone was left stunned as the Indians missed lifting the pegs in the last three runs. However, it was also reported that the organizers wanted to call out the event due to treacherous weather, but team India was determined to win the gold, so they went for it. In the qualifiers of the World Cup, India posted a score of 470, while they were able to secure 560 points in the finals. The coach also added that they could have posted an even better score if everything had gone well.

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The equestrian world is a testament to determination and resilience. Amid challenging conditions, the Indian team’s tenacity shone through, even as unexpected weather altered their fate. While they secured a bronze, their spirit and pursuit of victory showcased the essence of the sport and the unwavering dedication of its participants.

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