BENGALURU: Bengaluru’s Fouaad Mirza is currently on cloud nine. After having brought laurels to the country with two silver medals in the 2018 Asian Games, the equestrian has now made it to the list of Arjuna awardees this year. The award will be conferred on him by the President of India on August 29. Speaking to CE, the 27-year-old expressed his elation, saying, “I did not believe it at first, it took some time for me to wrap my head around it. This is a true honour.” A dedicated sportsman, Mirza, who is in Germany, said his current focus is on training but upon returning to the country, his focus will be on the award.
In 2018, Mirza ended the country’s 36-year long wait for an equestrian win by bagging two silver medals at the Asian Games in Jakarta. “A lot of hard work went into achieving this feat. One has to be physically prepared, especially for a lot of hours on the saddle and in training. We started training for the Asian Games a year in advance in order to ensure smooth execution,” he recounted.
Taking us back to where it all began, Mirza recalled his childhood as the time when things began to take shape. An avid animal lover, Mirza would spend ample time with dogs, cats and other four-legged creatures. His father, Dr Hasneyn Mirza, who is a veterinarian and specialises in horses, had a great impact on him. At the age of five, Mirza started to ride at The Embassy Riding School as a hobby but little did he know that this hobby would lead to a competitive calling.
The biggest difference over the years, however, has been the upgrade in the infrastructure of training facilities and on the young talent in the field.Talking about his next big challenge, Mirza says he has blinkers on and is focused on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he aims to qualify and represent the country.