BENGALURU: After a gap of two decades, India is set to have a representation in equestrian at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Bengaluru’s Fouaad Mirza officially confirmed his Olympic berth in May, but it was his sheer hard work and focus over the last few years, which helped him achieve the feat. Such has been his determination that the top rider, who trains in Germany, has hardly been home for the last couple of years. Obviously, the pandemic might also have played its part too.
His last visit to the garden city was for a day or two in 2019 when he visited India to receive the prestigious Arjuna award, revealed his father Dr Hasneyn Mirza, an equestrian veterinarian. “Any parent would miss a child. That is there, but the thing is, you know what he is trying to achieve,” says Hasney, who is aware of the tough competition in the quadrennial event.
“That (podium finish) will be an icing on the cake, but then, the point is that the world’s best are going to compete in Tokyo. I am sure that he will give a good account of himself and anything can happen as he is motivated. If things go well, and if it is his day, he will be right there,” adds Hasney.
With Covid-19 playing a spoilsport for a major part of the last 18 months, it hasn’t been an easy turf for Mirza, who won two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games. Further, Hasneyn told CE that after some qualifying events for which Mirza was preparing, got cancelled, things looked uncertain at one point. “That period was quite difficult for him. There was so much uncertainty. At the end of the day, a horse is like an athlete. If you have got a target of competing in an event, then you are working towards the event, and get the horse to reach a certain level of fitness to compete.
If the event gets cancelled then you have to take the foot off the pedal,” says Hasneyn, who is thankful towards Embassy International Riding School Bengaluru for their support. When it comes to the sport, the horse is equally important as the rider. With Mirza born into a family of horse riding, dating back to eight generations, he had a good idea about it. He started riding as a fiveyear- old at their farmhouse near Yelahanka in the city. That helped him understand the horses from an early age.
With time, as he started to broaden his horizon, Mirza’s knowledge of horses and the sport increased which ultimately helped him in his career. “One has to be really motivated, and hungry to do well. More than that, you need to have an in-depth knowledge about the horses. You have to read about their feeding, speak to nutritionists, look at innovative ways of feeding, and do other things,” adds Hasneyn, a proud father. On Tuesday, Fouaad changed his horse, picking Seigneur Medicott for Tokyo Olympics 2020.