KUALA LUMPUR: The national Equestrian squad that will be competing in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from Sept 23 to Oct 8, are optimistic of delivering at least one medal.
Equestrian Association of Malaysia (EAM) honorary secretary Maj (R) Datuk Yap Mou Soon who did not specifically mention the colour of the medal said the medal target was set for Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil in the dressage event and N. Shoorendran who competes in the show jumping event.
“Both equestrian riders had qualified for the 2022 Asian Games on merit and are currently undergoing training abroad at different venues as part of their preparations for the games in Hangzhou.
“We are hoping that both riders can contribute medals in the Games. Qabil for one, has contributed a medal in the past Asian Games while we are also optimistic that Shoorendran who is ranked number three in Asia for showjumping, would not face any problems in his quest to deliver a medal,” he said.
Mou Soon was speaking to Bernama when met during the CSI1 International Show Jumping-Tent Pegging Championships held at the Selangor Turf Club, here today.
He was optimistic that the target set for both the equestrian riders from the country was possible because several top equestrian riders in Asia would not be participating in the games as they are concentrating on accumulating qualifying points for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
At the 2018 Asian Games hosted by Indonesia in Jakarta-Palembang, national equestrian rider Qabil Ambak, 43, riding on Rosentolz, put on a dazzling performance in the dressage event to collect 76.620 points that gave him the silver medal.
Qabil was just 0.425 points behind gold medal winner Wing Ying Siu from Hong Kong who was awarded 77.045 points for the event while Hyeok Kim from South Korea took the bronze with 75.805 points. -BERNAMA
