<p> Teenager Zahan Setalvad set the course ablaze as he stormed to an early lead in Category A (130cm) on the opening day of the South Indian leg of the FEI World Jumping Challenge at the Equestrian Centre for Excellence (ECE) here on Friday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Astride Pollina, the 17-year-old Zahan, representing Setalvad Equestrian, started his first round (13 efforts) at a leisurely pace clocking 66.22 seconds with four penalty points as he dropped a pole on the fifth jump.<br /><br />But his second attempt (10 efforts) was a strong one as the Mumbai lad stormed through the course with a clear run in 57.03 seconds to wrest the initiative ahead of the second round on Sunday.<br /><br />The race for second place was a tight affair as ECE’s Rishabh Mehta, the older of the Setalvad siblings Kaevaan and the seasoned Nitin Gupta (ECE) were separated by a little under three seconds with identical penalties. <br /><br />Gupta, piloting Zoe, brought all his experience into play to set the pace early, clocking 56.97 seconds, with a knock on jump seven, opening a nine-second lead over the other three. <br /><br />But the ECE head coach lost out to his younger competitors in his second sequence crossing the line in 57.00 seconds to finish the day in fourth.<br /><br />Mehta (Caprice) proved a strong competitor as he kept the pressure on Zahan in the second round. The Bengaluru rider, who endured four penalty points in both his runs, came agonisingly close to a clean run in each attempt but eventually fell short to concede the lead.<br /><br />After clocking 66.66 in his first outing, Mehta, touted as one of the best talents on the circuit, raced through the course on the second time of asking to clock 54.53 seconds but Caprice found the going tough on the ninth jump and nipped the pole to leave Mehta in second.<br /><br />Despite a slow run earlier in the day, Kaevaan upped his speed in his second attempt to finish third with a time of 56.97 seconds and a a single dropped pole. It turned out to be double delight for Zahan (Cabrini) as he found himself on top of the charts in Category B (120cm) as well. <br /><br />Results: Category A (130cm): Zahan Setalvad (Pollina, SE) 1; Rishabh Mehta (Caprice, ECE) 2; Kaevaan Setalvad (Cherokee, SE) 3; Nitin Gupta (Zoe, ECE) 4.<br /><br />Category B (120cm): Zahan Setalvad (Cabrini, SE) 1; Faiz Rezwan (Hugo, ECE) 2; Lt Col Sandeep Dewan (Frenchman, HEC) 3; Kaevaan Setalvad (Robin Kanan, SE) 4.<br /><br />Category C (110cm): Pranay Khare (Democratic, ECE) 1; Sepoy Naveen (Vijay, ASC) 2; Yash Nensee (Rannvikram, ECE) 3; Sepoy Naveen (Venky, ARPA) 4. <br /></p>
<p> Teenager Zahan Setalvad set the course ablaze as he stormed to an early lead in Category A (130cm) on the opening day of the South Indian leg of the FEI World Jumping Challenge at the Equestrian Centre for Excellence (ECE) here on Friday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Astride Pollina, the 17-year-old Zahan, representing Setalvad Equestrian, started his first round (13 efforts) at a leisurely pace clocking 66.22 seconds with four penalty points as he dropped a pole on the fifth jump.<br /><br />But his second attempt (10 efforts) was a strong one as the Mumbai lad stormed through the course with a clear run in 57.03 seconds to wrest the initiative ahead of the second round on Sunday.<br /><br />The race for second place was a tight affair as ECE’s Rishabh Mehta, the older of the Setalvad siblings Kaevaan and the seasoned Nitin Gupta (ECE) were separated by a little under three seconds with identical penalties. <br /><br />Gupta, piloting Zoe, brought all his experience into play to set the pace early, clocking 56.97 seconds, with a knock on jump seven, opening a nine-second lead over the other three. <br /><br />But the ECE head coach lost out to his younger competitors in his second sequence crossing the line in 57.00 seconds to finish the day in fourth.<br /><br />Mehta (Caprice) proved a strong competitor as he kept the pressure on Zahan in the second round. The Bengaluru rider, who endured four penalty points in both his runs, came agonisingly close to a clean run in each attempt but eventually fell short to concede the lead.<br /><br />After clocking 66.66 in his first outing, Mehta, touted as one of the best talents on the circuit, raced through the course on the second time of asking to clock 54.53 seconds but Caprice found the going tough on the ninth jump and nipped the pole to leave Mehta in second.<br /><br />Despite a slow run earlier in the day, Kaevaan upped his speed in his second attempt to finish third with a time of 56.97 seconds and a a single dropped pole. It turned out to be double delight for Zahan (Cabrini) as he found himself on top of the charts in Category B (120cm) as well. <br /><br />Results: Category A (130cm): Zahan Setalvad (Pollina, SE) 1; Rishabh Mehta (Caprice, ECE) 2; Kaevaan Setalvad (Cherokee, SE) 3; Nitin Gupta (Zoe, ECE) 4.<br /><br />Category B (120cm): Zahan Setalvad (Cabrini, SE) 1; Faiz Rezwan (Hugo, ECE) 2; Lt Col Sandeep Dewan (Frenchman, HEC) 3; Kaevaan Setalvad (Robin Kanan, SE) 4.<br /><br />Category C (110cm): Pranay Khare (Democratic, ECE) 1; Sepoy Naveen (Vijay, ASC) 2; Yash Nensee (Rannvikram, ECE) 3; Sepoy Naveen (Venky, ARPA) 4. <br /></p>
