Nitin Gupta, astride Taqdeer, kept the Indian flag flying high by riding to gold in the individual event of the Championship Show Jumping International (CSI) at the Embassy International Riding School here on Saturday.

The Bangalore-based Gupta came up with an error-free performance in the two rounds to finish with zero penalty to take the top honours, while there was more good news for the hosts as Arun Maribashetti, on Goldfinger, took the silver medal with a tally of four penalties.

Maribashetti pipped Merrick, riding Andy Flower, and compatriot Rohit Dagar atop Arjuna on the basis of better timing in the first round after all the three finished with four penalties.

In the first round, Maribashetti negotiated the 510-metre course length in 67.43 seconds to edge out Ubank, who stopped the clock at 70.02, while Dagar had to settle for the fourth spot after clocking 73.27.

Be that as it may, it was Gupta who stole the show. The riding coach at the Equestrian Centre of Excellence here put behind the disappointment of settling for silver in the team event on Friday and was in his elements.

After the first round, Gupta, Maribashetti and Dagar were on par with a clear round but only Gupta could emulate a perfect round in the  concluding session.

Among the leaders, Gupta rode first into the arena and right away put pressure on his compatriots with a clear round.

When Dagar knocked down the rail once to bow out of contention, Maribashetti became the only competitor to challenge Gupta with a clear round to force a jump-off.

But the wait for the champion was over when Maribashetti faulted at the second jump.

“I didn’t have a drop, so there was no need to go for the timing?” said Gupta about his composed show in the final round.

The 33-year-old was quick to appreciate the role of his horse in the triumph. “Though it was not a horse you could blindly trust, its .