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SC directs EFI to include Chirag in Asiad longlist
The verdict puts an end to the five-month legal battle that the 19-year-old has been waging against the troubled Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).
The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the decks for equestrian Chirag Khandal's inclusion in the long list of rider-horse combinations for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, a day before the deadline for the same expires.
The two-judge bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice MM Sundresh, hearing the Special Leave Petition filed by Khandal, said, "As an interim order and without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the respondents, we direct that respondent no 1 - EFI will include the name of the petitioner – Chirag Khandal in the provisional list which is to be issued/sent on or before 20.5.2023."
Supreme Court's verdict puts an end to the five-month legal battle that the 19-year-old has been waging against the troubled Equestrian Federation of India (EFI). Khandal had earlier approached the Delhi High Court after EFI had arbitrarily changed the selection criterion for Asian Games.
Before the postponement of the Asian Games, the EFI mandated the rider-horse combination to secure 1 Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) in five trials to be held in India between September 1, 2021 to May 15, 2022. The benchmark was revised last year with the combination needing to achieve 3 MERs in four trials in India between August 15, 2022 to February 15, 2022. By that time, Khandal had already achieved 3 MERs, but since all his MERs were achieved in France, he didn't meet the EFI criterion.
Later in the day, SAI held a virtual meeting with three riders -- Khandal, Fouaad Mirza, and Shashank Kataria -- where the matter of team selection also came up. EFI doesn't have a selection committee or an Executive Council after both were sacked by secretary general Colonel Jaiveer. On Wednesday, IOA's Athletes Commission decided to recommend an ad-hoc panel to run the operations of EFI and conduct fresh elections.
Khandal will join six other riders -- Ashish Limaye, Apurva Dabhade, Vikas Kumar, Raju Singh, Rakesh Kumar, and Ashish Malik -- in France. At least four riders, it has been learned, are already in France and have begun training on leased horses. Khandal is expected to fly out next week, pending visa clearance. A maximum of 12 rider-horse combinations can be part of the longlist.
Meanwhile, a rider who was part of the meeting and didn't wish to be identified claimed he felt "humiliated" with the way things panned out. "I knew I don't have the required MERs to make the cut, so what was the point of calling me to the meeting in the first place? If EFI are changing selection rules, the same rules should apply to all equestrians. I felt really humiliated. Also, what locus standi does SAI have in calling us for this kind of a meeting?" he said.
