Fouaad Mirza’s entry in the Tokyo Olympics is nothing
short of historic. The 29-year-old equestrian from Bengaluru in Karnataka will
be India’s third-ever equestrian entry in the Olympics. Mirza follows Imtiaz
Anees who appeared for India in the 2000 Summer Olympics and Indrajit Lamba in
the 1996 Summer Olympics.

The Beginnings:

Mirza’s bonhomie with horses began in his childhood.
His father Dr Hasneyn Mirza is a veteran equestrian and a sixth-generation
horseman. Thus, horses were always part of Fouaad’s life.

Fouaad began riding horses at the tender age of five.
He would ride horses after school and his passion for stallions kept growing
over the years. Eventually, he decided to take up the sport professionally.

Milestones traversed:

Fouaad Mirza first made the headlines when he won a
silver medal at the Equestrian Jumping Final at the Asian Games in Jakarta,
Indonesia. Mirza won a silver medal in Individual Eventing, thus becoming the
first Indian to win a medal at the Asian Games since 1982.

Mirza also finished second in Team Eventing. One year
later, the equestrian won his second international trophy when he won a gold
medal at the CCI3*2 event held at Strzegom in Poland.

Entry in the Tokyo Olympics

Mirza qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after finishing
first in South East Asia, Oceania group in January 2020. He became the first
equestrian to qualify for the Olympics in the last 20 years.

Fouaad Mirza will begin his Olympics campaign from
July 29, with the eventing first horse inspection at 6am IST.

Choice of horse

Fouaad has decided on Seigneur Medicott as his equine
partner at the Tokyo Olympics. Seigneur Medicott was Mirza’s equine partner at
the 2018 Asian Games.

Recognition

Fouaad Mirza received the Arjuna award in October
2019.