"It’s difficult to describe in words": Hriday Chheda on winning historic medal in Equestrian

HANGZHOU: Hriday Chheda, a 25-year-old athlete who played a crucial role in making history at the Asian Games in Equestrian after 41 years, said it was hard to describe the importance of victory.

The Indian Quartet of Anush Agarwalla, Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti and Sudipti Hajela delivered when it mattered the most in scripting history.

Hriday talked about what the victory meant for them and how it felt watching the Indian flag rising high.

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"It is difficult to say it in words but it is very special. Since I remember we have worked hard to reach here. We all are very happy after performing like this on the first day. I am hoping that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow also we have good results and we win a medal again... I had goosebumps. People feel proud after listening to the national anthem in any championship or event. We also had the same after listening to the national anthem on such a big stage," Hriday told ANI.

Divyakriti Singh shared a similar feeling as Hriday felt while watching the Indian flag go in the air. While talking about the moment she told ANI, "It feels surreal. I think everybody dreams of gold. We have worked very hard towards it. We believed in it and here we are. You are talking about the feeling sinking in. I think I had a little bit of that feeling wow, when I heard the national anthem play on China soil. I saw our 'Tiranga' go right up."

Anush Agarwalla and his horse ETRO scored the maximum score at 71.088 while Hriday Chheda-Emerald scored 69.941. Divyakriti Singh-Adrenalin Firdod scored 68.176. Sudipti Hajela-Chinski scored 66.706.

India finished with a score of 209.205 which was significantly higher than second-placed China's 204.882. Anush Agarwalla stole the show with a score of 71.088 while Hriday scored 69.941 and Divyakriti scored 68.176.

Together, they have ensured that no team even comes close to their combined score.