Pune: Having won three medals (one silver and two bronze) in each of the past two editions, Indian sailors will be looking to add to their tally when they set out on the water at the Kaiyoh Yacht Harbour in Gamagori City, venue for sailing events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
India has won four equestrian gold medals overall, but three of them came in 1982 before the quartet of Anush Agarwalla, Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh and Sudipti Hajela broke the lean patch with the team dressage crown in the last edition. Both won’t be competing in Japan but the team, nevertheless, will be looking for an encore at the Equestrian Park in Setagaya Ward, which also hosted the programme during the 2021 Olympics. India have not climbed the podium since 1951, when the men won a silver (team pursuit) and two bronzes (time trial and sprint). The 14-member squad, spearheaded by Ronaldo Singh and David Beckham, has shown promise. 1 and the first Indian to win an individual silver medal at the Asian Track Championships.
India had medal prospects in four of the seven junior events, according to an expert. India’s medal hopes could have been even brighter had the Sports Ministry not struck down the selection of the junior crew. Anush and Divyakriti scripted history with India’s maiden individual and women’s medals respectively. Speaking of medal droughts, few have been longer than the one the cyclists will be aiming to end. Ronaldo was a Junior World No. Beckham finished in the top eight in Hangzhou.
The pair will be joined by Jemsh Singh and Rojit Singh in the team sprint, while Harshveer Singh and Vishavjeet Singh will carry India’s hopes in the madison and other events.