State award motivates Asian Games medallist Hriday Chheda to go for glory at World Championships, Olympics

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Making history comes easy for Maharashtra's equestrian sportsperson Hriday Chheda.

Recently he became the first representative of equestrian sport to be bestowed the prestigious Shiv Chhatrapati State Sports Award for 2022-23 by the Maharashtra Government at a function in Pune.

That award was given to Hriday because of another historic feat -- being part of the first Indian team to win a gold medal in Dressage in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Buoyed by the latest recognition, Hriday Chheda tells IANS that he is now focused on winning medals in the mega events in the next two years and then making it to the LA Olympics in 2028.

Excerpts from an interview conducted over Zoom from his base in Europe:

Q: Congratulations on winning the Shiv Chhatrapati Award from the Maharashtra Government. How do such awards motivate you? How much importance do you give to such awards?

HC: Of course, awards are a great way to get our efforts recognised and it's especially by the State and the government, it's an honour. Of course, we don't only pursue the spots from the point of awards, but they are a great way to validate our efforts.

And yeah, I think it pushes us to strive and continue doing what we are doing. And the awards are just the result of what we do. You know, it is not the reason why you do it, but I think the result of what we do.

Q: At a young age you chose a sport like equestrian, which is not very popular in India. So how did you get into it and what was the thing that attracted you to it?

HC: I mean, I started horse riding at a very young age. My father took me to some camps near Bombay and then of course to the Amateur Riders Club (ARC), which was in the city itself and you know, was possible to ride before going to school.

I think it was just a very different sport. It is the only sport that I have really connected to and yeah, the feeling of riding the horse and making a partnership over time was great. It is something that clicked on and I have never looked back since I started in 2004. And yeah, it is been a great journey so far to reach this.

It is not very well known. But I think it was a nice sport to get into and also very difficult in India to pursue to the highest levels, which is why currently I am based in Europe.

But I think these awards like the Shiv Chhatrapati State Award kind of get the sport more recognised, then maybe get more eyeballs on the sport so that more people can maybe pursue it.

Q: Overall, where do you see your career going now? You were part of the Asian Games gold medal-winning team in Hangzhou and now you are participating, training, and preparing in Europe. How do you see your career progressing?

HC: In the next couple of years we have quite a lot of interesting championships coming up. At the end of this year in December, we have the Asian Continental Championships in Pattaya (Thailand), which could be one of what we are going to aim for next.

Next year we have the World Equestrian Games or the World Championships in ARC in Germany and I think that would be a huge milestone for me at least. I would aim for it to get to that level over the year and maybe qualify for it over the year. Those are the goals that I have set for myself and we are working towards achieving them.

Next year is also the Asian Games in Japan and that will also be one of our goals to represent the country again and do as well as last time. I believe that doing well in these events would lead to the qualification for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Q: Can you talk a bit about the Asian Games gold medal because that is the first time India has won in that category? So what kind of changes has that brought in your life and your career?

HC: I mean, of course, it's been a life-changing achievement. I mean, in terms of some of the doors that got opened, the support that we've received, the recognition that we received. The state and the national sporting authorities rewarded us for our efforts and that kind of helps in pursue the goals further.

The other thing on a personal level, I mean, since India was never considered a medal-winning prospect in dressage before going to the Games, that also opened up the doors for the sport within the country for people to pursue dressage.

You know, also in Europe, people are now considering India as one of the countries that is upcoming and getting there. So, I think winning the gold medal, even though it was surprising to many, has brought a very positive change to our sport and I see a lot more people trying to pursue Dressage as a sport.

More people know dressage now in India. I mean it is quite an unheard sport up to a point. So at least some people know about dressage now. And I think also sports authorities in the country now know that India has a chance (of winning a medal) in this sport. So it is great. It is I think the right path for us to continue excelling and hopefully get some more medals in the coming years.

Q: Are you focusing only on dressage or will you participate in other disciplines like Eventing and Show-jumping also?

HC: I pursue only dressage myself. That is what I am focused on. I am not really pursuing any other discipline at the moment. But yeah, so it is only full-time dressage.

Q: Dressage is considered one of the toughest of the equestrian disciplines because there has to be a huge amount of coordination between the rider and the horse. So how challenging was it for you as a rider to get into this?

HC: Well it is either this or Evening or Show-jumping. I won't say any of them are easier or just easy per se. Dressage focuses on the attention to detail and the harmony between horse and rider. You have to try and make it look as effortless as possible while performing these high-level movements. And yeah, while it is challenging to get that perfection we truly say that you are never perfect in our sport. You are always learning, you are always growing and you have never made it that you know it all.

So it is a constant process. But what we do and what the results that we see in the communication with the horse that we can get is itself rewarding. And you can see the results that when you do the right things, you get the right results. And that kind of tells us, 'OK, we are on the right path' and we continue. I mean, we are maybe half an inch closer to a little bit better than we were yesterday, and then the day further.

--IANS

bsk/