CHENNAI: It’s very rare for an international sporting meet to get postponed on the eve of its commencement. But during Covid times nothing is unusual. The World Cup Qualifiers for Equestrian Tent Pegging, scheduled to be held in Greater Noida from Friday, was postponed by a couple of days as two teams failed to reach on time.
“The event is slated from March 14 to 16,” Jaiveer Singh, secretary-general of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), confirmed to this daily. The event is being jointly organised by EFI and Equiwings Sports, a private firm.
Earlier, Equiwings in an official statement said that the event will be held from March 11 to 14. It had also said that seven countries, including hosts India, Russia, USA, Belarus, Pakistan, Sudan and Bahrain were expected to compete. However, since then Russia, Sudan and Bahrain have pulled out of the event due to surge in coronavirus cases across the globe.
“Belarus arrived on Wednesday night. Pakistan team members also got visas on Wednesday. We are expecting the USA to get the visas on Friday,” said a source. A seven-member team from the neighbouring country is expected to take part in the qualifiers. It was also learnt that an international jury from Sudan and Oman has also reached New Delhi.
As far as India is concerned, a total of 15 tent peggers have been picked following the nationals. The list will be pruned further. The qualifying event is a part of the Penta Grand 2021. The top-two teams were supposed to qualify for the World Cup scheduled in 2023. However, with three teams withdrawing, only the top team will qualify.
Tent pegging involves a horse and its rider racing along a course and collecting, cutting, shooting, or accurately stabbing a series of pegs, lemons, rings, or mannequins.