Equestrian: Riding over obstacles, Tokyo-bound Fouaad Mirza banks on equation with his partners

An injured horse, a pandemic, a breakout of equine herpes and limited competitions to secure Minimum Eligibility Requirements were the big obstacles that Fouaad Mirza, the first Indian equestrian to qualify for the Olympics since 2000, had to jump over to formally confirm his Tokyo Games berth.

The 29-year-old had clinched a quota late in 2019, but cancelled events due Covid-19 and equine herpes meant he could only complete the Minimum Eligibility Requirements for the Olympics last week at Baborowko in Poland.

Mirza, who won two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games ending a 36-year-old medal drought, is only the third Indian after Indrajit Lamba and Imtiaz Anees to secure an individual spot in Eventing at the Olympics. Anees was the last to make the cut, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a wildcard.

Archive — Fouaad Mirza’s Asiad medal broke the glass ceiling: Former national champion on equestrian in India

The MER fulfilment ticked the final box and Mirza is now focussed on the journey ahead. But there’s one final unique challenge to complete — the choice of equine teammate.

He is yet to decide which one of his two horses – Seigneur Medicott, who won the Asiad medal, or Dajara – will accompany him to Tokyo. Medicott is the more experienced…

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