Asian Games 2018: Fouaad Mirza scripts history with first Equestrian individual medal in 36 years

Fouaad Mirza became the first Indian since 1982 to win an Asian Games individual medal at the equestrian event in Jakarta on Sunday.

He was also part of the Indian side that finished second in the team event.

Mirza finished with a score of 26.40 to claim the silver in the individual jumping event, while Oiwa Yoshiaki of Japan won the gold with a score of 22.70. China’s Hua Tian Alex finished with a score of 27.10 to settle for the bronze.

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In the team event Mirza alongside Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Malik, and Jitender Singh won the silver with a score of 121.30, while Japan scored 82.40 to top the podium. Thailand bagged the bronze after coming third with a score of 126.70.

Fouaad had also topped the dressage and cross-country qualifiers with a score of 22.40 and was the favourite to win a medal. His silver made him the first since Raghubir Singh’s gold in 1982.  India has so far won 10 medals at the event, including three gold. But this was country first in 36 years.

The 26-year-old, who trains under German Olympian Bettina Hoy, is also the first Indian to win in Europe. He qualified for the event after winning the opening two trails at the Asian Games CCI equestrian event held in Italy last year.

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The equestrian team’s feat including Fouaad’s historic achievements just days after their last-minute arrival at the Asian Games village as they had got their accreditation one night before the intercontinental event.
The discord among the officials in the Equestrian Federation of India almost made it impossible for Fouaad and team to participate in the Games after their selection was declared as invalid.

According to a report in PTI, in the event, the horses, along with the riders, are timed from a start and a finish line, and a final score is obtained by combining the number of jumping faults (4 points for every jump knocked down), number of refusals (a refusal is when the horse refuses to jump), and time faults (if the rider takes more time than the stipulated limit). Two refusals in the event lead to elimination.

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