A pre-competition dispute over a horse’s medical fitness ahead of Asian Games 2026 has escalated into a legal battle. Lt Col Sandeep Dewan (retd), a member of the ad hoc committee of the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), recently served a defamation notice to Asian Games 2022 gold medallist Hriday Chedda .

The legal action stems from an email Chedda sent to top Indian sports authorities in early September, addressing the controversy around veterinary assessments of his horse Dono Di Maggio during pre-games quarantine in Aachen, Germany.

The disagreement centres on sharply contrasting veterinary evaluations. While Chedda maintains the assessment unfairly jeopardised his place in the national contingent just days before departure, Dewan asserts that the medical examination was routine and that Chedda’s subsequent email contained false, defamatory allegations that damaged his personal reputation.…