Olympic equestrian champion Mark Todd - Fouaad Mirza's inspiration!
Fouaad Mirza is the first Indian equestrian to qualify for the Olympics in two decades.
India's No.1 eventer Fouaad Mirza will carry the baton forward for the country at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020 after a gap of twenty years. He will be the first Indian equestrian after Imtiaz Anees (2000 Sydney) to make an appearance at the Olympics.
The Bangalore-born Mirza discovered his liking for horses at the age of two years as his father Dr. Hasneyn Mirza, an equestrian veterinarian, would often take him to the stud farm that he worked in.
And his love for the sport grew over the years, he found his inspiration in seven-time Olympian Mark Todd of New Zealand. Interestingly, Todd bagged two consecutive Olympic gold medals in 1984 and 1988.
"My favourite Olympic memory would be from 1988 where Mark Todd won. I was not born back then but have watched a lot of videos around it. I get a lot of excitement watching that," Mirza told the media.
The onus will be on him to deliver his best at his maiden Olympic appearance in Tokyo, for which he has been training in a village called Bergedorf in Germany, for the past two years. He has been working to better his skills under London 2012 bronze medallist and German equestrian Sandra Auffarth.
However, as it stands, equestrian remains an expensive sport as you have to accommodate several provisions for the rider and his horse. But Fouaad is lucky in a way as his stint in north-west Germany has been completely sponsored by the Embassy Group based in his hometown in Bengaluru_._
"I would say, in the last couple of years, it would be around INR 2 crore which includes going to the competition, maintaining the horses," Fouaad said, speaking about the gross expenses incurred during his training stint in Germany.
Mirza, however, continues to work on improving his coordination with his horse as he believes that it will be key to produce the best result at Tokyo 2020.
"To improve my coordination (with the horse), I go to a physiotherapist, twice a week. She gives me homework which I follow at home," he said.
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.