Equestrian federation horsing around with athletes

In yet another embarrassment for the Indian contingent, a few members of the equestrian team have been stranded here.

dna has learnt that six members of the team were stuck in the city as the payment for the transportation of their horses to Germany had not been cleared by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI).

As per the programme, the riders were supposed to send the horses back to Germany where they would resume their practice for the Rio Olympics. This is only because EFI refused to bail them out.

The common practice is to employ cargo companies, who use specialised stalls suitable for the air travel of horses. The Indian team has been training in Germany in to prepare for the Rio Games.

Apparently, the cost of transporting each horse to Europe was 26,860 euros (approximately Rs 20 lakh). EFI asked the riders to bear the cost of transportation and refused to pay up citing shortage of funds. The riders have obviously refused to budge.

Now, two of the riders — Shruti Vora and Shubhshri Rajendra — have written to the IOA seeking help to leave Incheon as soon as posisble. "As athletes, are we expected to travel with Rs 20 lakh in foreign currency? The EFI claims it has no funds. I am stuck in South Korea with my horse and unless this invoice is not cleared, we cannot move our horses," the athletes wrote. "Request the invoice may be cleared at the earliest so that the horses can go back to Germany and resume their training for the Rio Olympics. Please treat this as extremely urgent."

An IOA official told dna that the body has approached the sports ministry. "The total amount needed in this case is around Rs 2.20 crore and we've asked the ministry to bail out the athletes who cannot leave Incheon without making sure their horses are transported with all the care."

Vora was riding Akira, while Rajendra's horse is named Smokey 249.