Indian sports wrap, December 24: Lakdawala triumphs in Young Rider showjumping at Jr National Equestrian C’ship
Indian sports wrap, December 24: Lakdawala triumphs in Young Rider showjumping at Jr National Equestrian C’ship
Chennai’s Ali Hatim Lakdawala, riding Leonardo Van Holli, clocked an impressive 33.31 seconds to clinch the Young Rider Showjumping champion title at the Junior National Equestrian Championship here.
Siddhant Jaiswal, Jaiveer Verma, and Geethika Tikkisetty secured first place with a cumulative score of 178.22 in the Young Rider (age group 18-21) team dressage event at the Army Polo & Riding Club.
Lakdawala edged past AEF Cup CSIY-B silver medallist E Surya Aditya, astride Calimero (37.22 seconds), while AEF Cup CSIJ-B silver medallist Geethika Tikkisetty, riding Brogonenn Saint Paer, secured third place with a time of 40.93 seconds in the show jumping category.
In the Children, I (age group 12-14) team dressage event, the quartet of Inaara Mehta Luthria, Ananya Sajit Haridas, Subh Chowdhari, and Pranav Deepak emerged victorious with 226.18 points.
Divyaraj Singh Rathore, Jaiwant Nawle, Aradhy Singh Chouhan and Sresh Raju Mantena (210.24 points) secured the silver medal, while Puneet Jhakhar, Swara Tihrani, Zara Swittens, and Agastya Sharma (206.26 points) finished third.
The tent pegging event had Dhoni Om Chand, riding Mrignani, take first place in the lance category with 51.5 points, winning the tie-breaker against Mohammad Alhamad Chishty astride Rani. Sahil (Candy) finished third with 47.5 points.
-PTI
Hero MotoSports Team Rally on Tuesday named young Chilean rider Nacho Cornejo as its new recruit, while announcing a three-member team for the Dakar Rally 2025.
Cornejo will team up with Sebastian Buhler and 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) winner Ross Branch.
This will be the team’s ninth appearance in the world’s toughest race, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia from January 3 to 17.
It was a memorable 2024 for the young team as it secured an overall second finish.
In the 12-stage 2024 edition, Branch led the race for four days and remained in second spot for eight days, eventually finishing second overall, making Hero MotoCorp the first Indian manufacturer team to make it to the Dakar podium.
For Botswana’s Branch, this will be his third Dakar outing with the team.
Buhler, a German living in Portugal, has given consistent performances this year, marking his biggest achievement by securing his first FIM World Championship race podium at Rally Raid Portugal, where he finished second overall.
At the 2024 Dakar Rally, Buhler came close to winning his first Dakar stage.
Young Chilean rider Cornejo boasts of an impressive Dakar record, including a fourth-place finish in 2020 and nine stage wins.
The 47th Dakar Rally will kick off in Bisha, featuring a prologue and 12 stages spanning 7,700 km across the vast desert. For the first time, five stages will have separate courses for FIM and FIA vehicles, covering 45 per cent of the timed distance.
Dakar 2025 will also be the opening race of the fourth edition of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC).
Hero MotoSports is a Rally GP-class participant at the W2RC 2025 and will attend its five rounds starting with the Dakar, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (February), South African Safari Rally (May), BP Ultimate Rally Raid in Portugal (September), and finally closing the season with the Rallye du Maroc (October).
“2024 has been an incredible year for us. Finishing second at Dakar, a first for any Indian manufacturer, and winning the 2024 World Championship has given us a new level of respect and recognition in motorsports,” Wolfgang Fischer, the team manager said.
-PTI
