Bangkok, December 9: With one medal from tennis being sure, another one possible bronze, seems to have been sighted by the medal-starved and embarrassed Indian contingent. The Indian equestrian team, one of the five that began the three-day event on Tuesday, is now lying third behind hosts Thailand and Japan. Malaysia and Korea, the other two teams in the fray, were eliminated as two of their four riders either retired or were eliminated from the cross country endurance event on the second day of the three-day event.The Indians who were fourth after the first day's dressage -- Korea being second behind Japan and Thailand in that order -- were well served by Rajesh Pattu atop Ringo and Amlokjit Singh astride Smart. Pattu had an error free day, while while Amlokjit logged 8.40 penalty points. Anees Imtiaz had 15.20 penalty points. The fourth Indian rider, Palwinder Singh was eliminated in the cross country.
With three of the Thai riders having an error-free day, the hosts led with a total of 171.40 penaltypoints after two days. Japan were second with 174.60 penalty points, while India had 247.00. It was not clear whether India would still be in the running for medal in case any of their three top competitors either retire or are eliminated.
Either way, all India needs to do is hang on and pick the bronze. It is a medal the contingent needs badly to boost their morale, which is now close to their ankles.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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