'Mind over matter': Olympian Imtiaz Anees' advice for Fouaad Mirza ahead of his Olympics debut

It will be after a long gap of 20 years that Sydney 2000 Olympian Imitiaz Anees will handover the baton in equestrian to a fellow Indian Fouaad Mirza at Tokyo 2020.

Anees was only the second Indian equestrian to represent India at the Olympics after Indrajit Lamba made a foray into the sport at Atlanta 1996. From his experience, Anees, advised the Bengaluru equestrian to remain focused at his event and not get carried away by the support he is receiving.

"My main advice to him (Fouaad Mirza) is to live in the moment. It is overwhelming to be riding with so many people looking at you. It plays at the back of mind. So you've to keep it out of your mind. It's all about mind over matter," Anees told Olympics.com.

"All the training has been done, he is ready now he needs to keep his nerves and keep it simple. There's no training now and it's just about the bond that he and his horse have," he added.

The Indian equestrian will mount on his ever-reliable equine partner Seigneur Medicott, who helped him win two silver medals at the 2018 Asian Games, at Tokyo 2020. He will represent India at the three-day eventing which is described as an equestrian triathlon. It tests the rider and his horse at various levels -- jumping, dressage and cross country -- across the course of the play.

And Anees believes it will be important for Mirza to determine the course before the start of play.

"He (Fouaad Mirza) is an extremely talented rider, he has lovely horses and is very fortunate to have two horses qualified for the Olympics. He has got more experience. He is in a good position to do well for the country," Anees said.

"Mirza is doing a three-day eventing where the course is very important and he doesn't know it or none of us has seen it. It's only after he reaches Tokyo, we will know what he can do, because we don't know if it's a technical course or a big fence or something else," he added.

Besides that Anees mentioned that it becomes mandatory for an equestrian from India to train abroad as the level of competition is much higher.

"We all need to train overseas because we don't have the level of competition in India. There are a lot of top riders abroad. A lot of them are hoping to be an Olympian. Here (in India), we are talking about nobody. So it's very difficult to train. He has done the right thing to go out and train with an Olympic champion (Sandra Auffarth) and a good rider," he said.

Anees is further determined to help equestrians grow in India and pass on his Olympic experience to the youth through his book - Riding Free: My Olympic Journey.

"I wanted to tell my story (through the book) to inspire other riders 4-5 years ago," Anees said

"I had dreamt of it (representing India at the Olympics) since I was six-year-old and then to see the Indian flag gave me goosebumps. It was very special.

"That's what we dream about. It's funny you can be a national champion or do well at international level but it's not the same as the Olympic Games. It is different to be with all top athletes all over the world. We are also meeting the best of the best in other events," he adds, recalling his Olympic journey.

When will Fouaad Mirza's campaign at Tokyo 2020 begin?

Mirza will begin his campaign at Tokyo 2020 on Friday in the eventing individual qualifier event.