The coming Summer Olympics which will be held in Tokyo, Japan is going to be additionally special for Malaysia.
If all goes well, Qabil Ambak, will be the first equestrian athlete to represent Malaysia at the games.
According to a report by The Star, Qabil received an invite from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to participate in the individual dressage competition.
For equestrian newbies, the event at the Tokyo Olympics will feature three disciplines - dressage, eventing and jumping.
Dressage, the event that Qabil will be competing in, is an advanced form of riding and training that tests the horse and rider as they perform difficult manoevres.
“I was the reserve rider but one of the riders has informed that he can’t go. It’s a dream come true for me to qualify as I have been trying a few times to get in.
“I am grateful to get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but I admit it’s going to be a stressful challenge for me to go to the Olympics on a short notice," he said.
He added that his participation also depended on whether he met the eligibility requirement which is to ride in a competition this year.
“The world body FEI are giving us until June 21 to meet the requirement as I’ve not rode for sometime because of the COVID-19 situation.
“It will be a big challenge in the current COVID-19 situation we are in to go outside the country for a competition, getting the papers processed and to meet the entry requirement imposed by other countries, ” said Qabil.
He hoped that Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) would be able to help him speak to FEI about this requirement.
The 41-year-old said that additional time allowance or being allowed to undergo an online assessment would help considering the pandemic and deadline provided by the FEI.
Sounds like a pretty stressful situation.
We hope that Qabil manages to meet all the requirements in time and represent Malaysia at the games.
Good luck Qabil!
If all goes well, Qabil Ambak, will be the first equestrian athlete to represent Malaysia at the games.
According to a report by The Star, Qabil received an invite from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to participate in the individual dressage competition.
For equestrian newbies, the event at the Tokyo Olympics will feature three disciplines - dressage, eventing and jumping.
Dressage, the event that Qabil will be competing in, is an advanced form of riding and training that tests the horse and rider as they perform difficult manoevres.
Happy but pressed for time
While the news from FEI is a happy one, there are additional requirements that Qabil will need to fulfill in order to compete.“I was the reserve rider but one of the riders has informed that he can’t go. It’s a dream come true for me to qualify as I have been trying a few times to get in.
“I am grateful to get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but I admit it’s going to be a stressful challenge for me to go to the Olympics on a short notice," he said.
He added that his participation also depended on whether he met the eligibility requirement which is to ride in a competition this year.
“The world body FEI are giving us until June 21 to meet the requirement as I’ve not rode for sometime because of the COVID-19 situation.
“It will be a big challenge in the current COVID-19 situation we are in to go outside the country for a competition, getting the papers processed and to meet the entry requirement imposed by other countries, ” said Qabil.
He hoped that Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) would be able to help him speak to FEI about this requirement.
The 41-year-old said that additional time allowance or being allowed to undergo an online assessment would help considering the pandemic and deadline provided by the FEI.
Sounds like a pretty stressful situation.
We hope that Qabil manages to meet all the requirements in time and represent Malaysia at the games.
Good luck Qabil!
