CHENNAI: Some of India’s leading athletes are yet to restart training. In contrast, Fouaad Mirza is quietly preparing for a competition. The equestrian athlete, who decided to stay in Germany rather than come back to Bengaluru, has an event coming up in Westerstede, in Lower Saxony, in June second week.“I have been fortunate in the sense that I never really stopped training. I had dropped the intensity a bit. But with this event coming up, I’m slowly cranking it up. It’s a CCI 3-star event.”
Even if the event isn’t rated that highly, it’s an important one for Mirza. “It will give me a sense of where I am in preparation, and a perspective of where my horses (he will take Fernhill Facetime and Dajara 4 with him) are.”
Mirza says they could have some ring rust and events like these could help rid nerves. “When the horses are loaded into the lorry or the transporter, they tend to get excited. They haven’t had that feeling for some time and there could be significant nerves.” He is very clear in the mind as to what he aims to achieve. “I’m not going to there to win. I’m going there to use it as a preparation for July.”
That potential event in July, for all intents and purposes, could decide the 28-year-old’s place at next year’s Olympics. He has already won India a quota place but he has to meet one Minimum Eligibility Requirement (MER) in a CCI 4-star long format.
“That is the big one,” he says. While there is no confirmation about the event going ahead in July, the authorities, according to Mirza, will be looking at the conduct of the 3-star meeting in June.
Even if Germany is easing its lockdown restrictions, the situation means he still doesn’t know if international riders will be allowed to take part at Westerstede. “All of us have been asking the same. As of now, we don’t yet know if it is open only to riders based in Germany or if other riders can come in. Maybe the Dutch riders can come because it’s very close to the border.”
Even though most other Indian athletes returned to India before the lockdown, a “restless” Mirza says he feels vindicated. “I was just increasingly restless about the whole situation Now, hopefully I can focus, get that MER and look ahead.”