Indian Olympian Anush Agarwalla has lodged an appeal against the Ad-hoc committee of the Equestrian Federation of India.
Although he was the overall the highest scoring Indian rider in the Prix St Georges in 2026 he was named reserve on the Indian team for the 2026 Asian Games. Agarwalla alleges a conflict of interest in the selection committee and demands a strict implementation of the actual set selection criteria issued by EFI.
Appeal
In a press statement issued on 19 June Agarwalla confirms that he filed a writ petition titled ‘Anush Agarwalla v Ad-Hoc Committee for Equestrian Federation of India & Ors.’ before the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi, seeking urgent judicial intervention against the arbitrary and illegal actions of the Ad-Hoc Committee for Governance of Equestrian Federation of India, Selection Committee, Indian Olympic Association, Union of India (Through Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs).
The press statement reads that Agarwalla's main grievance is the "arbitrary mode and manner in which the selection process has been carried out to oust Mr. Agarwalla, despite his exceptional credentials and standing in the sport."
Agarwalla represented India at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after unlocking an individual slot for India in 2023. He is currently ranked 14th on FEI World Ranking for 1*/Small tour combinations.
The press release states that "the Petition contends that the arbitrary exclusion of an athlete of such proven merit, experience, and international standing from the forthcoming Asian Games raises issues of fairness, transparency, and adherence to established selection norms, warranting urgent judicial scrutiny."
"Deserving Clarity"
In a statement on social media, Agarwalla wrote that "while I respect the selection process and the athletes chosen to represent India, I believe every athlete deserves clarity on how such decisions are made, particularly when current rankings, international performances and proven results appear to suggest otherwise."
To Eurodressage Agarwalla explained that the conflict concerns selector Kapil Modi. Anush immediately flagged this conflict with the federation when Mrs. Yashodhara Raje Scindia appointed the committee on 12 April 2026.
"Col. Sandeep Dewan reached out to me via call on her behalf saying that there is nothing to worry about and if my scores are good enough I would surely be on the team and that the final selection would anyway be made by Mrs. Scindia," Agarwalla stated. "After the call, I trusted the process and didn't make any further objections."
The problem between the Agarwalla family and Modi dates back to the period 2011 - 2017 when Anush was a student of Modi before moving to Germany to train with Hubertus Schmidt.
"During this time there were 2-3 more students and they can confirm the same statements. He has grudges against me since then. He has filed many bogus criminal cases against my family and myself, most of which has been dismissed by the court in our favour. In fact, after I won the 2023 Asian Games he even filed a harassment case against me because I sent him a picture of my medal and 2 laughing emojis. This case was won by us. In fact, he is currently out on bail and should not even be on any committee by law. My family also lodged criminal proceedings against him since he treated me very badly when I was a minor and the case is still ongoing."
Court Hearing
A first court hearing concerning the team selection took place in Delhi today, 22 June 2026.
"Upon hearing us, Mr. Kapil Modi appearing for the R1 said that they had already submitted definite entries on 19.6. We submitted that as per handbook and entry timeline it had to be done between 22 June and 1 July. So the court came down heavily on Kapil Modi stating that this was a deliberate attempt to make petition infructuous even though (the) bench was of the view that India is to be represented at Asian Games, the procedure in which it was carried out has to be made transparent on affidavit."
Anush added, "the next hearing is on Wednesday (24 June) and I hope the judge will reach a decision."
The past week, Eurodressage reached out to the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) and Mrs. Yashodhara Raje Scindia and has not received a reply upon publication of this article.
Related Link
Indian Team Announced for the 2026 Asian Games