Asian Games gold medallist Anush Agarwalla has flayed the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) for its selection process that has resulted in the dressage rider missing the opportunity to help India defend its team title in the upcoming 2026 Games in Aichi-Nagoya starting later this week.
Agarwalla, a member of the Indian dressage team that won a gold medal in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and also won an individual bronze medal, on Monday took to Instagram after his hopes of competing at the Aichi-Nagoya Games formally ended.
“The dream of Asian Games 2026 is officially over,” Agarwalla wrote in his Insta story, adding that he was “deeply hurt” because he felt he was never allowed to compete.
In separate comments, he also wrote, “I didn’t get to fight for the medal. But I fought for what I believed in. The Asian Games dream ends here. The bigger dream doesn’t. Floriana, we’re not done yet,” he wrote.
Agarwalla, a member of India’s gold-winning dressage team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and an individual bronze medallist there, took to Instagram after his hopes of competing at the Aichi-Nagoya Games were formally ended.
“The dream of Asian Games 2026 is officially over,” Agarwalla wrote, adding that he was “deeply hurt” because he felt he was never given the opportunity to compete.
“Words cannot explain the pain and emptiness I feel right now. I have always represented India with immense pride, and always will. But this time, I am deeply hurt — not because I lost, but because I was never given the chance to compete,” he wrote in his post.
The 25-year-old had initially been named as a reserve for India’s Asian Games dressage team. His exclusion subsequently became the subject of a selection dispute, with Agarwalla challenging the process and questioning how the selection criteria had been interpreted.
The Delhi High Court, however, declined to intervene, ruling that the selection had been carried out in accordance with the prescribed criteria.
In his social media post, Agarwalla also claimed that he had approached the Equestrian Federation of India, the Indian Olympic Association and the Sports Ministry over the matter, but to no avail.
“Accepting an outcome doesn’t mean I have to believe the process was right,” Agarwalla said, while adding that he was proud to have fought his case until the end.
The rider also used his post to call for greater transparency in athlete selection, saying competitors should not have to go through a similar experience.
“If India wants to become a true sporting nation, athletes deserve a system that is fair, transparent and respects the years of work behind every opportunity,” he wrote.
He thanked his coach, family and everyone who stood for him,” he wrote.
