Horse ruled unfit by EFI cleared by Asian Games organisers

Dono Di Maggio, the 19-year-old horse of rider Hriday Chheda that an EFI ad-hoc committee in Germany declared 'unfit', has passed the mandatory veterinary inspection conducted by Asian Games organisers in Japan, clearing his participation in Friday's dressage event. Chheda thanked IOA president PT Usha for her support. Separately, riders Gaurav Pundir, Chheda and Shruti Vora rejected the committee's proposed start order and submitted their own sequence.

Written by AI from Times of India — Top · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 25 Sept 2026, 12:02 am IST

Source

Times of India — Top · read the original report ↗

#asian games#equestrian#dressage#efi#hriday chheda

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Dono Di Maggio, declared 'unfit' by an EFI ad-hoc committee in Germany, passed the Asian Games veterinary inspection in Japan — Stated as reporting in the source; contrasting findings described but no veterinary document or official cited
Hriday Chheda thanked IOA president PT Usha for ensuring he gets a fair chance to compete — Direct quote attributed to Chheda, given to TOI from Tokyo
Three riders — Gaurav Pundir, Chheda and Shruti Vora — rejected the ad-hoc committee's start order and submitted their own sequence — Attributed only to 'TOI has learnt'; no named official confirmation in source
Jai Sud began competing internationally only in March 2026 and has no championship experience at this level — Attributed to the riders' submission, not independently sourced in the text
Chheda was in India's 2023 Hangzhou gold-medal team; Pundir in the 2025 Asian Continental Championships silver team; Vora a triple silver medallist at the same event — Figures and credentials appear in source as cited by the riders

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Sports Analyst

This is no longer just a fitness row over one horse — it is a sign that India's Asian Games dressage squad is still tangled in administrative disputes a day before it competes. Dono Di Maggio, declared "unfit" by the EFI ad-hoc committee in Aachen, has cleared the organisers' mandatory veterinary inspection in Japan, which clears Hriday Chheda to ride but leaves questions hanging over the assessment process. Campaigning with a 19-year-old horse is a challenge in itself; add an unresolved start-order fight and the risk to team focus is real.

Two contrasting verdicts on the same horse — "unfit" in Aachen, fit in Tokyo — put the spotlight squarely on how the veterinary assessment was conducted.
Chheda's availability adds depth to the Indian effort, given he was part of the 2023 Hangzhou gold-medal-winning team.
Start order is a genuine tactical lever in dressage, where sending the least experienced rider first and anchoring with proven scorers is a standard way to protect the team total.
Three riders — Pundir, Chheda and Vora — rejecting the committee's proposed order and submitting their own, on grounds of merit, experience and recent results, points to a trust deficit between athletes and administrators.
This much uncertainty 24 hours out — horse fitness plus running order — can bleed into preparation, even for experienced combinations.

What to watch — Watch who finally rides in what order on Friday and who makes that call — that will be the first measure of how much this dispute has cost the team.

The story does not establish how or on what criteria the Aachen "unfit" verdict was reached, what explains the gap between the two inspections, or what the ad-hoc committee's side of the argument is.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

India's dressage squad at the Asian Games in Japan is caught in a selection and fitness dispute. An ad-hoc committee of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), operating in Germany, had declared rider Hriday Chheda's 19-year-old horse Dono Di Maggio "unfit" after an assessment in Aachen. The same horse has now passed the mandatory veterinary inspection conducted by the Asian Games organisers in Japan, clearing Chheda to ride in Friday's dressage event. Separately, three riders have rejected the start order proposed by the ad-hoc committee and submitted their own sequence.

Key facts

Dono Di Maggio, the 19-year-old horse of rider Hriday Chheda, was declared "unfit" by the EFI's ad-hoc committee in Germany (assessment in Aachen).
The same horse cleared the mandatory veterinary inspection conducted by Asian Games organisers in Japan ahead of Friday's dressage competition.
Chheda thanked Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha for "ensuring that I get my fair chance to compete here", speaking to TOI from Tokyo.
Three riders — Gaurav Pundir, Hriday Chheda and Shruti Vora — formally rejected the ad-hoc committee's proposed start order for Friday's event.
The riders submitted their own sequence to the panel and to India's chef-de-mission Sahdev Yadav, arguing the order should reflect "objective merit, experience, recent results and scores".
Their proposed order: Jai Sud first, then Hriday Chheda/Gaurav Pundir, Gaurav Pundir/Hriday Chheda, and Shruti Vora last.
The riders said Jai Sud began competing internationally only in March 2026 and has no previous championship experience at this level.
Credentials cited: Chheda was in India's 2023 Hangzhou Games gold-medal dressage team; Pundir was in the 2025 Asian Continental Championships silver-medal team; Vora is a triple silver medallist from the same event.

Timeline

2023Chheda is part of India's gold-medal winning dressage team at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
2025Pundir features in India's silver-medal winning team at the Asian Continental Championships; Vora wins three silvers at the same event.
March 2026Jai Sud begins competing internationally, as cited by the three riders in their submission.
Before the Asian Games (date not stated in the source)EFI ad-hoc committee in Germany declares Dono Di Maggio "unfit" following an assessment in Aachen.
Ahead of Friday's dressage eventDono Di Maggio clears the mandatory veterinary inspection by Asian Games organisers in Japan; riders submit their own start order.

Who has a stake

Hriday Chheda — His participation in the dressage event hinged on his horse's fitness; he questions why Dono was declared unfit in Aachen and whether that assessment was fair.
Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) ad-hoc committee — Its veterinary assessment and proposed start order have both been contradicted or rejected, putting its credibility under scrutiny.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and president PT Usha — Credited by Chheda with supporting his right to compete; responsible for ensuring fair process in the Indian contingent.
Gaurav Pundir and Shruti Vora — Senior riders seeking a start order based on merit, experience and recent results rather than the committee's proposal.
Jai Sud — The youngest, least experienced rider; the other riders propose he go first, citing his international debut in March 2026.
Sahdev Yadav, India's chef-de-mission — Received the riders' alternative start order; must handle the intra-squad dispute at the Games.

Why it matters

A horse ruled unfit in Germany but passed fit by the Games organisers in Japan raises questions about the reliability and fairness of the veterinary assessment process used to decide an athlete's participation. With a medal-winning squad openly rejecting its own federation committee's start order, the episode points to governance and trust deficits in Indian equestrian administration at a major multi-sport event.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) is the national body for equestrian sport; an ad-hoc committee was functioning for the Asian Games squad.
PT Usha is the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
India won dressage team gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games; Chheda was part of that team.
Dressage is an equestrian discipline; horses must clear a mandatory veterinary inspection conducted by Games organisers before competing.
Sahdev Yadav is India's chef-de-mission for the Asian Games contingent.
Aachen (Germany) is where the ad-hoc committee's assessment declaring Dono Di Maggio unfit took place.

Mains framing

The dispute in India's Asian Games dressage squad illustrates how weak internal governance in national sports federations can directly threaten athletes' right to compete. An EFI ad-hoc committee's assessment in Aachen declared Chheda's 19-year-old horse Dono Di Maggio unfit, yet the mandatory veterinary inspection by the Asian Games organisers in Japan cleared the same horse, exposing a gap in the transparency, standards and appealability of such assessments. The parallel revolt over the start order — with Pundir, Chheda and Vora demanding a sequence based on "objective merit, experience, recent results and scores" and submitting their own list to the committee and the chef-de-mission — suggests selection decisions are perceived as discretionary rather than criteria-driven. Implications include reputational damage to Indian equestrian sport, distraction for athletes on the eve of competition, and possible dilution of medal prospects for a squad containing a 2023 Hangzhou gold medallist and multiple continental medallists. The way forward, on the evidence in the source, lies in pre-published, objective selection and fitness protocols, independent or second-opinion veterinary review, and a clear grievance route through the IOA and chef-de-mission before events begin rather than during them.

Key terms

Dressage: An equestrian discipline in which horse and rider perform set movements and are scored by judges.
Equestrian Federation of India (EFI): The national federation for equestrian sport in India; an ad-hoc committee was handling the Asian Games squad's decisions.
Ad-hoc committee: A temporary panel set up to run a federation's affairs or specific decisions, here selection and fitness calls for the dressage squad.
Mandatory veterinary inspection: The compulsory fitness check of horses by Games organisers before competition; Dono Di Maggio cleared it in Japan.
Chef-de-mission: The head of a country's contingent at a multi-sport Games; Sahdev Yadav holds the role for India.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA): India's national Olympic body, headed by president PT Usha, which oversees the country's Games contingent.

Practice questions

Contradictory fitness rulings on the same horse by a national federation committee and by Games organisers point to a deeper governance problem in Indian sport. Examine, with reference to the EFI dressage controversy.
Discuss the need for objective, pre-published selection criteria in national sports federations. How can athletes' grievances be resolved without disrupting participation at major Games?
What role do bodies such as the Indian Olympic Association and the chef-de-mission play in safeguarding athletes' rights during a multi-sport event? Illustrate with a recent example.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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