KUALA LUMPUR: National equestrian ace Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil (pix) is not ready to throw in the towel yet despite not earning a coveted spot to compete in the Tokyo Olympics next month.
Qabil Ambak is now raring to go again as he has shifted his focus to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris, three years from now.
“If I have strong financial support, Godwilling, we will try again in Paris 2024,” he told Bernama when contacted.
The 41-year-old missed out his chance to book a slot in the Tokyo Olympics after he garnered 64 per cent, just two per cent shy of qualifying for the Games, in the CDI (International Dressage) event in Le Mans, France, last Friday.
Qabil Ambak needed to gain at least 66 per cent in the Le Mans meet to make it for the Tokyo Olympics.
The 2018 Asian Games silver medalist admitted that lack of preparation and inadequate time with his horse, Delatio, were contributing factors that led to his inability to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
“I was not able to synchronise with the horse (Delatio)...It has been almost a year and a half I didn’t ride my horse and this, I believe, affected my performance in Le Mans,” he added.
Qabil Ambak, who arrived in Denmark from Singapore on June 11, had less than a week to train with Delatio in Aarhus, before he took part in the Le Mans outing.
Despite feeling gutted that he was unable to taste the excitement of competing in the Olympic Games, he was grateful for the experience in Le Mans and owed his coaches, the Olympic Council of Malaysia and National Sports Council a debt of gratitude as they went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that he could join the event.
Earlier this month, the Kuala Lumpur-born rider was named as the replacement in the dressage event by FEI (International Equestrian Federation) after one of the two riders who had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics via Group G of the qualifying tournament for the Southeast Asia and Oceania zone in 2019 withdrew. -Bernama
