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How Ashish Limaye Rode Redemption After a ‘Blank Moment’ Heartbreak
How Ashish Limaye Rode Redemption After a ‘Blank Moment’ Heartbreak
On a tense afternoon at the Thai Polo and Equestrian Club in Pattaya in December 2025, history came down to a single rail. When Ashish Limaye completed his round at the 2025 FEI Asian Equestrian Championships, he stood provisionally in gold medal position. One rider remained between him and history.
“I was quite lucky to probably be second last to go and to be second in the merit," Limaye tells News18 Sports in an exclusive conversation.
“So, I did my bit and then I was just hoping for the next person to have a pull down… my last moment I would say was praying to God that the other person knocks a pole. Wouldn’t be the best, but yeah, that’s the sport I would say." And when it held, it was “sheer joy."
That sealed India’s first individual continental gold in eventing in 43 years – a landmark achievement for the country in the sport.
However, India’s success was not limited to one rider. In team eventing, India clinched silver. The Indian trio comprised Limaye, Shashank Singh Kataria and Shashank Kanumuri.
And the Indian medal rush in Pattaya extended beyond eventing. In dressage, Shruti Vora delivered a standout performance, clinching two individual silver medals and a team silver The Pattaya results reinforced India’s growing competitiveness in dressage – an area Limaye himself believes is witnessing rapid progress.
“If we are to consider the Asian countries then for sure I think China, Japan and Thailand have been much ahead of India for quite some time," Limaye says candidly. “But lately I would say we are doing extremely well in dressage and eventing at least.
“The new riders are doing exceptionally well, they’re really based abroad, they’re training a lot. So, I think we are quite neck-to-neck with all these countries and soon probably we’ll be better than them. I hope so," add Limaye.
Taken together – Limaye’s individual gold, the eventing team silver, Vora’s dressage silvers – Pattaya marked one of India’s most successful continental equestrian outings in decades.
Redemption After Hangzhou
But for Limaye the gold also meant a lot more.
At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Limaye had taken the lead after the opening phase, but at a crucial juncture he went ‘blank’.
“The 2023 Asian Games was very emotional for me," he says. “I had a blank moment over there and, in spite of leading in dressage, it was like I threw away the medal because I was very strong in cross-country and show jumping with this horse."
And Limaye carried that guilt for a long time. “For the last two years, it wasn’t just Pattaya. It was all these two years where everything was [about] self-doubt. It was questioning every decision. It was questioning myself, the whole system."
So, when he stood atop the podium in Pattaya, it felt different.
“It has been a long journey, but today it all seems worth it… Especially after the last Asian Games when I was leading and had a blank moment – it felt like I let everyone down. Today, this feels like a redemption.
From Pune to Europe
Limaye’s journey began in Pune, in a family of doctors where equestrian sport was hardly the obvious path. Introduced to riding at seven and mentored by the late Arjuna Awardee Ghulam Mohammed Khan, he rose steadily through India’s competitive structure.
He completed his engineering degree, but knew he did not want ‘sitting inside an office for the whole day’. By 2019, at Embassy International Riding School in Bengaluru, he was winning regularly. Yet he sensed stagnation.
“In 2019 and 2020, I was pretty much competing with a lot of horses… and I was winning a lot," he says. “But in the end, I had a feeling that it was like a small well and we were not really surpassing a certain point in my riding career. I think I was plateauing and I was just happy."
In 2021, he moved to Germany to train. “The biggest difference I feel is you’re competing against the top-level athletes, even the Olympians. You’re competing in every show over there… it pushes you harder to develop or train harder."
But the learning curve was steep for Limaye. “In my first competition, I was 37th in the dressage. It was not the best situation to be in. And definitely I was a bit shaken up because I was winning everything in India at that point.
“That is what pushed me even harder to work more and train harder… the competition level is different abroad and that is why it helps if you’re training abroad."
And through the heartbreak of 2023 and the triumph of 2025 stood his horse Willy Be Dun.
“We have Will from the beginning of 2022, I would say, and I think he’s never let me down," Limaye says. Reflecting on the Asian Games elimination, he is clear: “He could have won in 2023 also. It was my blank moment and me letting him down. Whereas this time I think we both did well."
A Turning Point for India
Equestrian sport in India continues to battle funding and visibility challenges and Limaye believes even though there are gaps to be plugged, the interest curve is on the rise.
“Yes, for sure I think the sponsorship factor is the most limiting factor for Indian equestrian sport," Limaye says. “We are not able to get that many sponsors in the sport because the footfall is less, the sport is not as common.
“Definitely the funds are an important factor in our sport and it creates a huge gap… But in the recent span… the gap is coming down."
The Olympic Dream
Talking about the Olympics aspiration, Limaye knows that the gold does not guarantee anything. “Every championship has its qualification system," he says. “Even if I won the Asian Championship… I will have to give my trials again to qualify.
“In 2027 I would be giving the qualifiers for the LA Olympics and I hope I can get there. For sure, representing India at the Olympics is like a dream for each and every athlete. And yeah, if I make it there then it’s like a dream come true," concludes Limaye.
Source: News18
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