Who is Shruti Vora? Everything about the dressage athlete who challenged her non-selection for the Paris Olympics
Shruti Vora, a skilled horseback rider from India, recently made history in equestrian sports. She became the first Indian rider to win a three-star Grand Prix event at the FEI Dressage World Cup in Lipica, Slovenia.
Shruti started riding at three and later attended an Army Riding school in Ballygunge, Kolkata, to learn the basics from Kiran and Balbir Singh. From 1996 to 2010, Vora took a 14-year break from her career. She made a comeback in 2010 at the Dressage Team Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, after her last appearance in an international dressage tournament in 1996.
Later that year, she participated in the National Dressage in Delhi and secured second place. Recently, she won a silver medal at the Brno Grand Prix in the Czech Republic. Vora and Anush Agarwalla were the first Indians to compete in an individual dressage event at the Dressage World Championships.
After becoming the first Indian to win a 3-star GP in dressage, Shruti Vora was expected to be named part of the Indian equestrian Team for the Paris Olympics 2024. However, she wasn't selected for the team, so she filed a petition in the Delhi High Court.
Why was Shruti Vora not selected for the Paris Olympics 2024?
Riding her horse, Magnanimous, Shruti Vora scored 67.761 percent, earning the first Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) point for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Following her record-breaking performance, she was hoping to get a call for the Summer Games but only her teammate Anush Agarwalla got the call-up.
The Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) established specific criteria for Olympic participation, which considers the overall record of an athlete for selection. Although Vora's recent performances were impressive, her overall record wasn't deemed as good as Agarwalla's.
Vora challenged the Selection Criteria Notice 2024 in court, arguing that it was arbitrary. However, the court rejected her petition, stating there was no merit in the petition.