Athlete Divyakriti Singh
Credit: PTI Photo
In an overwhelmingly proud moment, 23-year-old Divyakriti Singh Rathore of Rajasthan, on Tuesday, received the prestigious Arjuna Award from President Droupadi Murmu for her remarkably outstanding stint in Equestrian sports.
Singh, the first Indian female to receive the Arjuna in the Equestrian sport, has mastered the tricks of the sport after rigorous practice over the years.
Bright in academics, Singh inherited the interest and passion for Equestrian sports from her ancestors, who her father Vikram Singh Rathore said were involved in polo.
Ranked No. 1 in Asia and No. 14 worldwide in the Global Dressage Rankings by the International Equestrian Federation, Divyakriti also scored a gold in team dressage event held last year at the Asian Games in China Hangzhou— marking 41 years since India bagged a gold medal in the equestrian sport at the Asian Games.
An alumna of Ajmer's Mayo College Girls School and Jesus and Marry College, Delhi University, Divyakriti is the second woman from Rajasthan to bag gold at the Asian Games after Rahi Sarnobat who won the first gold medal at the Asian Games winning a challenging 25-meter air pistol finals.
Of the many challenges Divyakriti faced enroute to her journey to glory include the sale of her house. Her father reportedly had to sell their house when she was studying to fulfil the financial requirements that would help Divyakriti further her training in Equestrian dressage. As a result of the encouragement from parents, Divyakriti has been consistent in her training and has honed her skills.
For the past three years, she has been training at the Hof Kasselman dressage yard in Germany's Hagen city. Divyakriti also bagged individual silver and two bronze medals at the International Dressage Competition in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, which also helped her to further practice the skills she had honed, just before the Asian Games event.
"This is a moment of immense pride for the equestrian sport and our noble companions, the horses, to receive recognition and reward from our Hon’ble President. It is a humbling experience, and I extend my gratitude to my family and my horses, whose support has been instrumental in helping me achieve this remarkable feat," The Quint quoted Divyakriti as saying.
Many prominent international and national personalities congratulated Singh for victory at the Asian Games, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and current Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma among others.
Equestrian is the broad umbrella term for the sport involving riding on horseback. The Olympics defines the sport in three categories - dressage, eventing, and jumping also known as show jumping.
The sport dates back as the ancient Olympic Games when chariot racing was one of the main spectacles as of 680 BC to the inclusion of jumping, dressage and eventing in 1912 following the revival of the modern Olympic Games in 1896— according to Fédération Equestre Internationale.