My horses fought hard for me: Fouaad Mirza on Tokyo qualification

Double Asian Games silver medalist Fouaad Mirza officially confirmed his Tokyo Olympics spot, finishing second and third respectively on Seigneur Medicott and Dajara 4 to complete his Minimum Eligibility Requirement in the CCI4*- L at the Baborowko Equestrian festival Poland this weekend.

It makes him only the third Indian equestrian after Indrajit Lamba and Imtiaz Anees, and the first in over two decades, to secure an individual spot in Eventing at the Olympic Games. He had earned a quota last year and the MER fulfillment ticks the final box in qualification.

Mirza, had to contend with a challenging start to the year following the outbreak of the Equine Herpes Virus among horses, forcing his horse, Dajara 4 into quarantine and leading to cancelled events until April.

This weekend’s three-day equestrian triathlon of Eventing consists of dressage, cross-country and show jumping had the 29 year-old from Bengaluru maintaining his position inside the top two from the first two events. In cross-country, the partnership between horse and rider and their endurance through varied, difficult terrain is tested. His horse Seigneur Medicott, was making a return to competition after suffering an injury two years ago. Mirza completed the cross country portion of the competition – 41 jumps over 29 obstacles through a course distance of 5700m without picking up any penalties.