CHENNAI: India’s Fouaad Mirza confirmed his spot in the Tokyo Olympics by completing Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs) and finishing second and third on his horses Seigneur Medicott and Dajara 4 respectively in the CCI44*-Long eventing competition in Boborowko, Poland.
Backed by the Embassy International Riding School, the 29-year-old battled lockdown, outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1), cancellation of events and an injury to his favourite horse Seigneur Medicott to attain the MER.
The double Asian Games medallist had earned an Olympic quota for the country last year and the recent performance in Poland helped him seal the deal. He will be the third from the country to compete in the equestrian events in the Olympics. Imtiaz Anees (2000, Sydney) and late Wing Commander IJ Lamba (1996, Atlanta) are the other Indians to have represented the country in the sport at the Games.
“He was trying to attain the MER on two horses. Fortunately, Seigneur Medicott, who got injured in 2019, recovered last year,” Fouaad’s father, Dr Hasneyn Mirza, a well-known veterinarian, told this daily.
Dr Hasneyn admitted Fouaad was finding it difficult to find events to achieve the MER because of the existing situation due to Covid-19 pandemic.
“Achieving MER wasn’t very difficult but the real problem was finding events. Covid led to cancellation of events and then there was outbreak of EHV-1. So there were just not enough events. This was the last possible event because by June 21, you have to give your qualifying results,” he added.
With the Olympic ticket confirmed, the Bengaluru lad will now continue to train in Germany ahead of the Games. “He will head straight to Tokyo from his training base in Germany. The horses need to keep competing,” informed the father.
Fouaad now has to choose one horse between the two for the Olympics and he has time till July 1 for that. And Dr Hasneyn is confident that his son will give his best in the quadrennial event.