At 55, equestrian Shruti Vora is the oldest member of India’s Asian Games contingent but that’s not stopping her from going all out

Published on: Sep 22, 2026, 21:06:57 IST

Prefer HTon Google

Share via
Copy link

New Delhi: This February, less than three months after her three-medal haul at the Asian Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, equestrian Shruti Vora packed her bags at her then base in Germany and relocated to Yorkshire to train under world No. 5 and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Becky Moody. The reason? Despite her three silver medals at the continental championships, Vora was not happy with the way she rode.

“As an athlete, you must be ready to step out of your comfort zone. I feel I could’ve done much better in Thailand and maybe my training needed an upgrade,” she told from Japan where she’ll compete in the dressage event at the ongoing Asian Games later this week.

“I followed the same philosophy when I moved to Germany about two-and-a-half years back. And now again, I felt the need to reinvent.”

Vora is kicking herself for not making the move earlier. Trained until recently by Major Jitendarjit Singh Ahluwalia, who also co-owns her horse Magnanimous — a 14-year-old warmblood gelding — and London Olympics team dressage silver medallist from Germany Helen Langehanenberg, Vora was blown away by Moody’s attention to detail.

“She is a great person and a great athlete. I regret not coming to her earlier. That doesn’t take anything away from Major Ahluwalia or Helen who trained me to reach this far,” she said.

In all her years of competing at the elite level, no one, Vora says, exposed her to the precision needed to excel in her sport. Dressage, an expression of equine aesthetics, requires the rider-horse combine to walk, trot, and canter along with advanced maneuvers like the piaffe (a trotting motion in place) and passage (a very collected, springy trot). The rider-horse pair is judged on accuracy, submission, and the apparent ease of the rider.

“I was a bit naive not to have known how precise this sport can be. Dressage is all about precision,” she says.

“Becky taught me the trueness of the horse and the fine points pertaining to correctness of riding. She talks in centimeters and inches. Sometimes, when I come down the center line, Becky goes, ‘You are 1.5 inches off the line.’ I never heard a trainer tell me that in my life. That is precision. I feel I have become a more refined rider already, and I am still learning.”

At 55, she is the oldest member of the 492-member Indian athletes’ contingent. Tell that to Vora, and she goes, “I am old enough to be their mother.” But the joke ends there. Vora believes that age is just a number, and rather than mulling over it, she takes recourse in science.

“I don’t believe in age. I believe in science. Muscle doesn’t know how old you are; it’s the mind. Age is what I look at and smile,” she said.

“Of course, you need to pay attention to recovery. There’s muscle atrophy too, but all that shouldn’t stop you. Proper scientific training is the key.” A stickler for her gym sessions, she trains six days a week and rides almost every day to ensure Magnanimous stays in competitive rhythm.

“My training is a mix of all muscle groups. There’s decent VO2 training as well. The schedule varies on days I have intense riding sessions,” she says. With her family based in Mumbai, Vora fights periodic bouts of homesickness and longing. When in India, she rides in her stable in Alibaug.

“I never miss a riding session. I have a family to take care of as well, so my life is very different from that of a regular athlete, but this is what I have signed up for. I hope to return with ‘the’ medal to make it all worthwhile. I have been in good form. My body is feeling well, I am in good mental space,” she said.

Having made her Asian Games debut in Incheon in 2014 where she was “like a Class 2 student wanting to give a Class 10 exam,” Vora has accrued a wealth of experience over the years to become one of the most accomplished Indian riders. Back then though, it was a bit of a reality check.

“All I can remember from Incheon 2014 was that I was too raw. In your mind, you think you’re like cat’s whiskers. It doesn’t really work like that. I was eighth in individual dressage, which wasn’t a bad result. But I would call myself a sack of potatoes there.”

India had a memorable run in dressage at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou where the quartet of Sudipti Hajela, Hriday Chheda, Anush Agarwalla, and Divyakriti Singh won a team gold while Agarwalla later claimed an individual bronze medal. Only Chheda has managed to retain his place in this Asiad team. Besides Vora and Chedda, India will be represented by Gaurav Pundir and Jai Sud in dressage.

“I do believe we have the squad to better that Hangzhou result. Everyone has good horses and I have known Hriday and Gaurav for a while. Gaurav, in particular, has improved a lot over the past 8-9 months. And we have a young boy in Jay. I see good chances,” said Vora.

See Less