Tent Pegging in Lakshadweep

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Tent pegging, International Tent Pegging Federation, Equestrian events at the Asian Games, Tent pegging at the 2010 Asian Beach Games, Equestrian Federation of India (efinf.in, efinf.org) — Tent Pegging history, 2026 World Cup qualification, The Tribune / The Week — India's historic 2023 World Cup bronze, The Bridge / IANS — 2021 World Cup qualifier results, Sportskeeda — EFI national team selection trials, Penta Grand 2015 hosting, International Tent Pegging Federation (itpf.net), LA Polo — tent pegging career pathway feature. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Ancient India
Category: Equestrian
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: None recorded
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: EFI
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Tent Pegging is listed on SportSupport in the equestrian category. Its recorded origin is Ancient India. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list EFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Tent Pegging does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, and we hold no verified central pathway or current-year Ministry recognition record for it, so we make no Khelo India, TOPS, National Sports Development Fund or pension claim. Whatever competition exists is run by clubs, akharas, private promoters or state-level bodies. (Checked against Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — Discipline wise Participation in all editions of Khelo India Games (19th Edition).)

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for tent pegging athletes in India.

No central scholarship pathway
Tent Pegging does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list (Sports Authority of India / Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports), so Khelo India, TOPS and the National Sports Development Fund do not cover it. Athletes self-fund or rely on club and private support.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for tent pegging yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Tent pegging is a mounted skill-at-arms event: a rider gallops down a marked lane and strikes a small wooden peg driven into the ground with a lance or sword, scoring on whether the peg is carried, struck out or merely hit, with speed and style also counted. Runs are timed and must be made at a gallop within the lane; leaving the lane, dropping the weapon or an incorrect grip forfeits the run. Variants contested under FEI/ITPF rules include individual and team lance, individual and team sword, rings and pegs, lemon and pegs, pairs and Indian file, with team events summing riders' scores across passes.

Authoritative rulebook: EFI.

Positions

Typical roles across equestrian sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced tent pegging squad list.

Dressage rider
Judged on movement quality across a set test.
Show-jumping rider
Timed round with faults for rails, refusals and time.
Eventing rider
Combined dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in tent pegging at a federation-recognised event.

Trained gallop-steady horse conditioned for straight-line speed
Regulation lance (about 2.5m) and cavalry sword
Wooden pegs of prescribed size, rings and lemons for variant events
Standard saddle and bridle, no martingale restriction on the weapon arm
Certified helmet, boots and gloves
Marked run lane with peg lines and timing equipment

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Equestrian Federation of India

Equestrian Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Tent Pegging. We hold no confirmed Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so nothing here states that it is currently recognised.

Origin: Ancient India
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Equestrian

EFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in tent pegging.

National Equestrian Championship (Tent Pegging)
Run by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), with recent editions held in New Delhi and Greater Noida. It doubles as the national selection event: riders accumulate points at the championship, the top scorers go to trials, and five are chosen for the national team. At 2024 selection trials, 61st Cavalry Regiment rider Bonge Ganesh topped the field with 212 points out of 216, ahead of Ganesh Warkhade on 205.5 — the only two riders to break 200 — with former national champion Surendra third and Mohammed Rafik named reserve.
Penta Grand and international hosting
India has repeatedly hosted world-level tent pegging. The Penta Grand series bundled the International Equestrian Tent Pegging Championship, Asian Equestrian Tent Pegging Championship, the National Championship and the Noida Horse Show into a single festival, with 17 countries confirmed for the 2015 edition at Noida Sports Stadium. Events are contested across individual and team lance, individual and team sword, rings and pegs, lemon and pegs, pairs, and Indian file. Equiwings Sports, a private organiser, has worked alongside EFI to build the sport's domestic calendar.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in tent pegging.

ITPF World Cup
India's breakthrough came at the 4th World Cup in South Africa in 2023, where a five-member Indian team finished third — a first-ever podium, after sixth and seventh places in the two previous editions. Nine countries competed; India sat fourth after day one, moved to third on day two and held it. Col SS Solanki had been appointed national coach by EFI earlier that year. In January 2026 India qualified for the 5th World Cup finals in Jordan (November 2026) from the Group B qualifier, taking a record four team and two individual medals — team silver and individual bronze for Dfr Dhanraj Sirsat of the RVC on day one, team gold and individual silver for Sirsat on day two, and overall team bronze.
World Cup qualifiers
At the qualifier hosted in Greater Noida in 2021, India won six of seven gold medals and topped the standings with 515 points, ahead of Pakistan (482.5) and Nepal (457.5), with Belarus and the USA well behind. The Indian team was Dinesh G Karlekar and B R Jena of Assam Rifles, Mohit Kumar of the Indian Navy, Sandeep Kumar of Western Command and Harikesh Singh of Haryana Police.
Asian Games and Asian Beach Games
Tent pegging appeared at the Asian Games exactly once — the 1982 Delhi Games, where India was the best equestrian nation. Its inclusion came from determined lobbying by EFI President Gen O P Malhotra, who persuaded the FEI that India should stage a tent pegging competition at the Games in place of dressage. At the 2010 Asian Beach Games in Oman, India finished third overall in the discipline with gold in individual sword and bronze in rings and pegs. India placed fifth overall at the 2019 World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for tent pegging. The national championship under EFI remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised tent pegging athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for tent pegging maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in tent pegging — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Tent pegging is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the FEI, and according to the FEI most equestrian authorities hold that it originated in the Indian subcontinent — riders galloping through enemy encampments to lance out the pegs holding tents up, collapsing them on the occupants. The sport has been practised by mounted riders since at least the 4th century BC
The pathway is overwhelmingly institutional: India's national riders come from the 61st Cavalry Regiment, the Remount and Veterinary Corps, Assam Rifles, the Indian Navy, Western Command and state police forces. After Independence few civilians could afford horses, and it was the Army that kept the discipline alive
Civilian entry is possible but narrow — riders must clear EFI's rider eligibility levels to enter the National Equestrian Championship, and of roughly 300 riders in the domestic qualification, only five make the national team
The international federation itself was created in India: the body now known as the International Tent Pegging Federation was founded at the World Equestrian Tent Pegging Championship held in Gurgaon, Haryana, pushed by EFI's Col (Retd) Sarpartap Singh and promoter Ahmad Afsar in consultation with Pakistan's Malik Ata Muhammad Khan, bringing together representatives of 17 competing nations. Sources differ on the exact founding date (March, September and October 2013 are all cited) and on current membership, variously reported as 39, 38 or 45 countries; it is headquartered in Muscat, Oman
Coaching, judging and horse management within Army and police equestrian units are the main allied careers, alongside EFI's broader push to raise national coaching and officiating standards

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No tent pegging academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

All academies →List your academy →

FAQs

Common questions about tent pegging in India.

Who governs Tent Pegging in India?▾

We list EFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Tent Pegging, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Tent Pegging an Olympic sport?▾

No, Tent Pegging is not on the Olympic programme.

What government schemes support Tent Pegging athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Tent Pegging is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Tent Pegging does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Tent Pegging in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Tent Pegging in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.