25 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : India’s Shruti Vora, who made history earlier this month by becoming the first rider from the country to win a three-star Grand Prix event in dressage, is hoping that the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) will name her for the 2024 Paris Olympics on the back of her sizzling form.
Vora staked her claim for a slot in next month’s Games by winning her second Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) score at the Brno Grand Prix in Czech Republic on Saturday when, astride her 12-year-old gelding Magnanimous, she finished second with a score of 68.174. This effort came within a fortnight of her stunning win at the Grand Prix in Lipica, Slovenia, with 67.761 points.
The other contender for the sole slot for India at Paris 2024 in the Asian Games is bronze medallist Anush Agarwalla, who also has the required MERs, and hence meets the qualification criterion set by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) for an Olympic berth.
“Looking at recent performances is critical because it is important to judge the horse’s health and fitness closer to the event,” Vora said.
A point of contention appears to be the criteria being followed by EFI for the final pick.
The global body FEI’s selection criterion states: “A minimum 67% must be attributed twice to the Athlete/Horse combination by both a L4 judge and as an average from all judges in the competition, and the score must be achieved in a Grand Prix test at two different CDI3*/CDI4*/CDI5*/CDI-W/CDIO events. Athletes and Horses must obtain the MER at events which take place from 1 January, 2023, until the MER deadline of 24 June, 2024, included.”
But EFI guidelines, made public this February, say that in case of multiple contenders meeting the selection criterion “the athlete with the highest average in Grand Prix out of the best 4 events in the past one year shall be chosen to participate”.
