Winning the country's first ever bronze medal at the Tent Pegging World Cup in South Africa was a historic feat for the Indian riders, but instead of rejoicing the podium finish, the equestrians were struggling to hold their tears.
They won bronze, but missed the gold which was well within their reach.
The Indian riders -- Mohit Kumar (Navy), Dinesh Karlekar (Assam Rifles), Havildar Gautam Atta (ASC), Dfr. Mohammed Abrar (61st Cavalry) and Dr. Amit Chhetri (ITBP) -- knew it and were struggling to cope with the heartbreak.
Two-time world champion team Egypt knew it, Pakistan knew it and eventual winners Saudi Arabia, also knew it.
The Indians entered the final day of the competition with a realistic chance of winning a gold medal but a brief spell of rain coupled with gutsy winds changed the conditions completely and the fortunes of the country's riders.
The strip became slippery, the strong wind caused the sword to sway at the time of lifting the peg, the sawdust arising out of horses' strides began to enter the eyes.
It became as difficult as it could for the Indian riders, and eventually, the team settled for a bronze in the team event.
They were just 12 points behind Saudi Arabia and four points from silver medallist Pakistan but the conditions did not allow them to do better. When others took turns for their final run, both the rain and winds had stopped.
The Indian riders also won two bronze medals for their performance on day two and three of the competition.
"It indeed is a satisfactory show for us but the gold in the team event was ours. The conditions suddenly turned treacherous. Everyone was in disbelief that the Indian team missed the pegs in the last three runs," India coach, Colonel Satinder Singh Solanki told PTI.
"The riders were in tears. I had to console them. They could not believe that conditions robbed them.
"The organisers wanted to stop the competition due to rain but we wanted to fight and win gold, so we went for it. It is also a matter of great satisfaction that in the Qualifiers we had a score of 470, but in the final we scored 560, getting better by close to 100 points is no mean feat. It could have been even better but you can't fight the destiny," he added.
The Indian team had finished sixth and seventh respectively in the previous two World Cups.
Senior rider and key member of the team, Assam Rifles' Dinesh Karlekar finished as the fourth-best rider at the World Cup in George, Pretoria, where nine teams competed.
Karlekar has hardly missed slicing the lemon in his career, but conditions got the better of him too, and it affected the team.
"They (jurists) asked me to turn the sword when I go for the slice, it affected me due to the changed conditions, but overall, it was a good experience for all of us.
"On day one, I got a very small horse but when the horse was replaced on the second day, I scored a lot of points. Competing against the best in the business and giving them a tough time was indeed great," said Karlekar, who hails from Karnataka.
Coach Solanki also remembered how the Pakistani riders were saying silent prayers so that India do not add points to the tally.
"They told me later that they were reading 'kalma' so that Indian riders miss their chance and go out of gold medal race. They said, 'Assi ik mangde see, tussi te sahnu teeno run de ditte' (We were hoping that you guys miss one run but you guys gave all three)," said Solanki.
He is now hoping that this team sticks together and win the gold next time.
"This team has experience. Although there will be fresh trials at the time of the next World Cup, but if the same riders go, it will be advantage," he said.
Captain Amit Chhetri said they went into the competition as underdogs and surprised everyone.
"No one thought we will run the top teams close. We kept on adding points."
Revealing the strategy, Mohit said they wanted to stay close with two-time champions Egypt.
"We did not think of any other team. We knew if if we can stay close with them, give them tough time, we will end up on podium. We touched the World Cup but could not grab it."
Mohammed Abrar said he won't be dejected.
"A medal is a medal. It's a bronze and it's not small achievement. We have got experience, we have got better, and we will get better result the next time," he said.
EFI Secretary General Ciolonel Jaiveer said the federation is proud of the team's performance and they plan to reward the riders.
"It's a historic show. We want to reward their performance. There would be cash incentive for them," he said.
