Asian Games 2023: From Air Travel For Horses To Renting Boats, Indian Athletes Eye Glory

From transporting the horses by air to renting canoes and kayaks or even carrying them as luggage, Indian athletes for equestrian, canoe and kayaks disciplines have made their way to the Asian Games hoping to bring laurels to the country. While Fouaad Mirza ended the country's draught of medals in equestrian in the last Asian Games in Indonesia by winning the silver in individual jumping, India is waiting for its next medal in canoeing and kayaking since the 1994 Hiroshima Games.

India has only one medal in canoeing from the pair of Siji Kumar Sadanandan and Johnny Rommel who won the bronze, six editions and 24 years ago in Japan.

The horses bound for Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, for equestrian have undergone one-week mandatory quarantine from September 12-19 in Aachen, Germany, from where they were taken to the venues.

"The transportation of the horses for any event is done by air, which also includes elaborate quarantine procedures that need to be followed," said Shyam Mehta, president of the Amateur Riders' Club in Mumbai, which has hosted several events organised by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).

"Keeping the horses fit and healthy is a huge task especially keeping in mind the quarantine guidelines and the travel time," Mehta said.

"The quarantine zones can sometimes be in another country, for example with the Asian Games which is in China, the quarantine centres are abroad — where you travel first, stay in quarantine and then travel to China," he said.

"These quarantine centres are equipped with riding areas and paddocks to keep the horses fit and healthy throughout their time there, post which, they travel to the event location and practice to get acclimated with the conditions there before