Tag Archives: Asian Games

Japan Impresses with Three-Time Gold in Jakarta

Malaysia’s Qabil Ambak Dato’ Mahamad Fathil with Rosenstolz. (FEI/Yong Teck Lim)

All-gold in Eventing along with victory in Team Dressage and silver medal spot in Team Jumping ensured Japan was the winning-most nation in the equestrian events of the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta – Palembang, Indonesia. Held every four years in the middle of the Olympic cycle, the Asiads, as the Games are also known, is the biggest sporting event in the world with a massive 12,000 athletes taking part. Equestrian sport was introduced at the 9th Games in New Delhi (IND) in 1982, and competitions are conducted under FEI Rules.

Dressage

Jacqueline Siu (35) was the show-stealer in Dressage when securing Hong Kong’s first-ever equestrian medal at an Asian Games while also realising a dream of her own. The British-based rider narrowly missed the individual podium when finishing fourth twice before. However, this time around, partnering the 13-year-old JC Fuerst on Tour which was acquired by the Hong Kong Jockey Club from young German star Anna Abbalen, she climbed all the way to the coveted top step with victory in the Freestyle ahead of Malaysia’s Mohd Qabil Ambak Dato’ Mahamad Fathil (Rosenstolz) in silver and Korea’s Hyeok Kim (Degas K) in bronze.

Qabil Ambak topped the scoreboard in the Prix St Georges which decided the Team medals, but it was the consistency of the Japanese foursome that included Rio Olympians Masanao Takahashi (Fabriano) and Akane Kuroki (Toots) along with Shunsuke Terui (Alias Max) and Kazuki Sado (Djuice) that decided the destination of the 2018 Dressage team title. A second-place finish individually for 23-year-old Hyeok Kim helped Korea to silver, while Thailand’s bronze medal result was bolstered by a good performance from 24-year old Pakjira Thongpakdi (Hispania).

Eventing

The Japanese really got into their stride when taking both team and individual gold in Eventing. They enjoyed a convincing 38.9 margin of victory over India in the team competition in which Thailand claimed the bronze. And to put the icing on the Japanese cake, Yoshiaki Oiwa (42) pinned India’s Fouaad Mirza and China’s Alex Hua Tian into silver and bronze on the individual medal podium.

Yoshi, as Oiwa is best known, is a three-time Olympian with many successes during his long career. And when he shared the spotlight in the medal ceremony with team-mates Takayuki Yumira (37), Kenta Hiranaga (30) and Ryuzo Kitajima (32) he wasn’t taking all the credit.

“As a competitor, you do what you can – the others could have won gold without any help from me!” — Yoshiaki Oiwa (Japan)

It was a much closer affair on the individual leaderboard, however, when, riding Bart L JRA, his gold-medal-winning margin was a relatively modest 3.7 penalty points as he completed on 22.7 while India’s silver medallist Mirza was not far behind on his final tally of 26.40 with Seigneur Medicott. The last individual medal awarded to a rider from India went to Raghubir Singh in 1982, so there were big celebrations in the Team India camp with this result after a long 36-year wait.

Bronze medallist, Hua Tian, said these Asian Games were his “first steps on the road to the Tokyo Olympics,” and that’s a road that many of those competing in Jakarta are also hoping to follow over the next year and more.

Jumping

Japan had to settle for silver in Jumping when a world-class group of athletes from The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dominated. However, Abdullah Al Sharbatly (Carrera), Khaled Al Eid (Kayenna of de Rocky Mounten), Khaled Al Mobty (Desert Storm II), and Ramzy Alduhami (Ted) only edged out the Japanese by fewer than two points at the end of a tight competition in which Qatar lined up in bronze, almost eight points further behind.

The Saudi side were super-experienced, Al Sharbatly (35) claimed individual silver at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky (USA) in 2010 and team bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Al Eid (49) took individual bronze at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, and four-time Olympian Al Duhami (46) was standing on an Asian Games podium for the third time in his career. A total of 17 teams started, and it was a member of the fourth-placed Kuwaiti side, Ali Alkhorafi (28), who claimed the individual title.

Riding the 11-year-old mare, Cheril, he produced one of just two double-clear performances on the final day, the other posted by UAE’s Sheika Latifa Al Maktoum (Cobolt 8) who eventually lined up in seventh spot. Qatar’s Sheikh Ali Al Thani (35), who finished sixth individually at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, stood on the second step of the individual podium while Saudi Arabia’s Alduhami claimed the bronze.

Full results here.

By Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Media Relations and Communications Manager
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Qatar Takes Team Gold; Saudi Arabia’s Al Sharbatly Claims Individual Jumping Title

L to R – silver medallist Satoshi Hirao (JPN), gold medallist Abdullah Al Sharbatly (KSA) and bronze medallist Taizo Sugitani (JPN). (FEI/www.horsemovethailand.com)

Incheon (KOR), 30 September 2014 – Last week the host nation of South Korea claimed all the gold on offer in Dressage and Eventing at the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon. This week, however, Jumping took centre stage at the Dream Park Equestrian Centre where Qatar claimed the top step of the team medal podium on Sunday and Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al Sharbatly took the individual title today.

The Asian Games succeeded the Far Eastern Championship Games staged in Manila, the Philippines, in 1913 and the West Asian Games held at New Delhi, India in 1934. The Asian Games Federation was established in 1949, and the Olympic Council of Asia, established in 1982, now oversees this major fixture which embraces 36 separate sports and which this year celebrates its 17th edition.

Clean and clear-cut

The Qatari team victory was clean and clear-cut as they completed on a zero score to leave the result beyond doubt. Saudi Arabia had to settle for silver with a total of just four faults while Japan slotted into bronze medal position on a total of 12. Time faults proved costly for Team UAE who finished just off the podium in fourth place.

It was double-clear performances from three of the four Qatari team members that put gold in their grasp. Nasser Ghazallijahromi (Delloren), Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani (Vienna Olympic) and Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi (Tamira) were all foot-perfect, while Bassem Hassan Mohammed (Anyway) collected only 3 time faults for the discount score.

This is a team full of promise because Sheikh Al Thani, who celebrates his 32nd birthday tomorrow, was the oldest member of the side. Bassem Mohammed is 27, Al Emadi is 19 and Ghazallijahromi is the youngest at just 18 years. Keeping calm and concentrating on the task at hand was key to their success as Sheikh Ali said in the aftermath.

Saudi Arabia shared the lead with Qatar at the halfway stage when each team had nothing to add to their scorelines. Faisal Al Shalan (Talan), Salman Hamed Almazadi (Senorita) and Abdulrahman Bader Alrajhi (New Orleans) all kept a clean sheet for the Saudi side, with Al Sharbatly picking up just one time fault. But the man who would go on to win the individual honours had a fence down at his second attempt, and when Alrajhi racked up a 12-fault score then Al Sharbatly’s result had to be counted despite two more clears from their team-mates.

Second round began

The Philippines made a fantastic start when lying third with just two faults on the board as the second round began, following a clear from Joker Arroya (Didi De Goedersede) and only single time faults from both Marie Leviste (Maximillian) and Martin Diego Lorenzo (Contino). But it all fell apart for them in round two with the addition of 15 faults.

Japan, meanwhile, finished the first round with just four faults on the board after clears from pathfinder Satoshi Hirao (Ulan) and achorman Taizo Sugitani (Avenzio), and single errors from both Takashi Utsunomiya (Touche Pas a Riversuite) and Tadahiro Hayashi (Loretto Classic). Only Sugitani managed to leave all the poles in place second time out, however, but, even with eight more to add, their final tally came to 12 and that proved plenty good enough to clinch the bronze.

The United Arab Emirates’ total of 14 left them tantalisingly close to a medal-placing. On nine faults after the first round they had to add five more despite second-round clears from Abdulla Mohammed Almarri (Sierra Antika Joter) and Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum (Peanuts de Beaufour).

Individual decider

There were 20 horse-and-rider combinations in today’s individual decider, and this time Al Sharbatly’s 11-year-old bay Hannoverian by Contendro never put a foot wrong to help his rider finish top of the order. It would be a hard-fought affair, however, with two separate jump-offs to decide the medals, and a great day for Japan when taking both the silver and bronze.

Only the 32-year-old Saudi Arabian rider and Satoshi Hirao managed to stay clear over the first two rounds. and Al Sharbatly posted yet another clean run at this third attempt in the quick time of 33.64. So when 39-year-old Hirao faulted just once with his 13-year-old Canadian Warmblood, Ulano, the Japanese rider had to settle for silver.

It was another watershed moment for former Arab champion Al Sharbatly who rocketed onto the radar when taking individual silver at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 in Kentucky, USA before going on to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s team bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Before the medal ceremony could take place, however, there was more work to be done as there were eight riders tied on a four-fault tally at the end of round two so another gallop against the clock ensued to decide where the bronze medal would go.

And five horse-and-rider combinations left all the fences in place this time around, but Taizo Sugitani’s super-fast run in 30.95 seconds firmly clinched it for the 38-year-old double-Olympian who finished 10th individually in Kentucky four years ago. Once again, it was a case of so near and yet so far for Sheikha Latifa Al Maktoum who missed a place on the podium when finishing fourth when just over a second slower than Sugitani in the final round.

Results:
Jumping Team Competition: Gold – Qatar 0 faults: Delloren (Nasser Ghazalliahromi) 0/0, Vienna Olympic (Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani) 0/0, Tamira (Khalid Mohammed Al Rmadi) 0/0, Anyway (Bassem Hassan Mohammed) 1/2; Silver – Saudi Arabia 4 faults: Talan (Faisal Al Shalan) 0/0, New Orleans (Abdulrahman Bader Alrajhi) 0/12, Senorita (Salman Hamad Almaqadi) 0/0, Callahan (Abdullah Al Sharbatly) 1/4; Bronze – Japan 12 faults: Ulano (Satoshi Hirao) 0/4, Touche Pas a Riversuite (Takashi Utsunomiya) 4/8, Loretto Classic (Tadahiro Hayashi) 4/4, Avenzio (Taizo Sugitani) 0/0.

Jumping Individual Competition: Gold – Callahan (Abdullah Al Sharbatly) KSA 0/0/0 33.64; Silver -Ulano (Satoshi Hirao) JPN 0/0/4 39.36; Bronze – Avenzio (Taizo Sugitani) JPN 0/4/0 30.95.

Full results here.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

All Gold for South Korean Hosts in Dressage and Eventing at Asian Games 2014

(L to R) China’s Alex Hua Tian (silver), Republic of Korea’s Sangwuk Song (gold) and Republic of Korea’s Sire Bang (bronze). (FEI/www.horsemovethailand.com)

Incheon (KOR), 26 September 2014 – The host nation of the Republic of South Korea has dominated the medal podium during the first week of the equestrian events at the Asian Games 2014 at Incheon with all gold in Dressage and Eventing.

The host city lies west of the South Korean capital of Seoul, and the 17th Asian Games, which is the biggest sporting event in the world, began on 19 September and continues through to October 4. Almost 13,000 athletes compete in 36 sports over the 16 action-packed days representing 45 Olympic Council of Asia member states, and 10 countries fielded Dressage competitors while riders from seven nations lined out in Eventing.

Dressage

It was the fifth consecutive win for South Korea in last Saturday’s Dressage Team competition in which Japan took silver ahead of Chinese Taipei in bronze medal spot. The team from Indonesia finished a very close fourth while China, India and Thailand filled the remaining places on the leaderboard in that order.

Youngshik Hwang steered Fursteuberg to the highest score of the competition when posting 74.342 per cent. And when that was backed up by a healthy 71.237 from Dongsson Kim riding Finally, 69.658 from Yooyson Chung with Royal Red and 68.816 from Kyunsub Kim with Dark Secret then the Republic of Korea posted an average final score of 71.746 to claim the gold when the top three scores were taken into account.

Shingo Hayashi produced the highest Japanese score of 71.395 with Veranus while team-mates Kazuki Sado (Winnetou DDH), Tomoko Nakamura (Pacific B) and Mayumi Okunishi (Freestyle) posted 69.184, 68.947 and 68.895 respectively for an average team total of 69.842.

Chinese Taipei’s final tally of 67.386 was achieved by Ko Wen Wang (Daquino), Yu Chieh Chang (Nora), Li Yu Kuo (Temptation) and Hsiu Hua Yeh (Urban Legend) for the bronze, but the Indonesian score of 67.316 for fourth place was all the more creditable for the fact that there were only three competitors in this side, and therefore no drop score. The team consisted of Ferry Wahyu Hadiyanto (Douceur), Alfaro Menayang (Diamond Boy) and Larasati Iris Rischka Gading (Wallenstein).

Freestyle

The Dressage test for the team competition was Prix St Georges, but it was Intermediate Freestyle that decided the the individual medals which were awarded at the Dream Park equestrian venue three days later. And this time South Korea’s Hwang had to settle for silver medal spot as team-mate Kim reigned supreme.

Kim, who is 25 years old, was awarded the best artistic marks by all five Ground Jury members for a score of 77.225 with his 13-year-old Hannoverian chestnut, Finally.

Hwang, a double-gold medallist at the previous Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in 2010, scored 76.575 to take the silver with his 11-year-old Westphalian, Fursteuberg, while Indonesia’s Larasati Iris Rischka Gading took her second bronze medal of the week with Wallenstein when posting 74.075. Hong Kong’s Jacqueline Wing Ying Siu finished just off the podium in fourth on a score of 72.87 with Ferrera.

Eventing

In Eventing, the South Korean team proved untouchable from the outset helped in no small way by the leading dressage score of 37.90 from the anchor partnership of Sangwuk Song and FRH Fantasia who went on to also claim the individual title.

It was Wonjae Hong who provided the drop score in the Dressage phase when posting 49.40 with Calloa Vanhet Kloosterhofz, but on cross-country day Jaisik Cheon and Pilot Cutter added 20 penalties to their scoreline so the 0.40 for time collected by Hong was the only thing added to the host country’s tally going into the final afternoon following great clears from both Song and Sire Bang riding Thomas O’Mally.

The Japanese team of Tae Sato (Toy Boy), Takanori Kusonoki (Fairbanks Cargo), Ryuzo Kitajima (Just Chocolate) and Toshiyuki Tanaka (Marquide Plescop) established themselves in silver medal spot in Dressage and held on firmly, but the three-member team from Hong Kong made a big jump up from fifth after Dressage to take the bronze in today’s final Jumping phase.

China held third place after Dressage, but when pathfinders Junhong Lu and Watch were eliminated in yesterday’s cross-country phase then the 70.80 recorded by second-line rider Jingmin Li with Zhendeyl had to be added to the results for team-mates Ruji Liang (Vasthi) and Alex Hua Tian (Temujin) which dropped them one place to fourth. The Hong Kong threesome meanwhile proved a formidable force when Nicole Fardel was the only one to increase her scoreline, picking up 0.40 cross-country time penalties, while both Thomas Heffernan Ho (Zibor) and Yuan Yan Annie Ho (Baxo) kept a clean sheet. And even though Heffernan Ho and Fardel each faulted once today, Hong Kong still finished almost 20 points ahead of the fourth-placed Chinese side.

The Japanese were strong throughout, adding only two time faults in the cross-country phase and completing with three clear Jumping rounds today when Wonjae Hong was the only one to leave a pole on the floor.

Individual champion

Sangwuk Song was the clear individual champion when adding nothing at all to his excellent Dressage mark with his 14-year-old dark bay German-bred mare. The 41-year-old rider is something of an all-rounder, having competed in Jumping at the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in 2006 where he was on the silver-medal-winning team, and in Eventing at the last Games in Guangzhou four years ago.

Individual silver went to China’s Alex Hua Tian who, at the age of 24, has already made quite a name for himself in this sport. He received the FEI’s Rising Star Award in 2010 when he was also an ambassador for the Asian Games in Guangzhou. Two years earlier he was the first Chinese rider to compete at an Olympic equestrian event when lining out in Hong Kong for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He was just 18 years old at the time, and he put his name into the record books as the youngest athlete to compete in three-day eventing in Olympic history. Tian finished 49th individually at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy, France last month.

Korea’s Sire Bang finished a very close third to take bronze at Incheon today. The 26-year-old from the Let’s Run Equestrian Club in Korea is trained by Matthias Baumann in Germany, and taking a medal at these Asian Games has been a long-term ambition. She succeeded admirably with the help of her talented 16-year-old Irish-bred horse Thomas O’Mally when they added nothing to their Dressage score. Hua Tian almost frittered away his advantage when collecting three time faults, and he only pipped Bang for the silver by 0.20 penalty points.

Full results here.

By Louise Parkes

Media Contacts:

Grania Willis
Director Press Relations
Email: grania.willis@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 142

Malina Gueorguiev
Manager Media Relations
Email: malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
Tel: +41 787 506 133

Asian Games: Saudi Arabia’s Al Duhami Takes Double Gold in Jumping

Ramzy Al Duhami from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took Jumping team and individual gold with Bayard V Devilla at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Guangzhou (CHN), 25 November 2010 – It was double-gold for individual champion Ramzy Al Duhami yesterday as The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia impressively dominated the Jumping competitions at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.  On Monday the 38 year old rider joined Khaled Al Eid, HRH Prince Moteb Al Saud and Abdullah Al Sharbatly to take the team title ahead of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who pipped Hong Kong, China in a thrilling third-round jump-off against the clock.

And for the UAE there was also a double to celebrate yesterday as Sheikha Latifah Al Maktoum claimed her second silver medal of the Games when finishing only fractionally behind Al Duhami in the jump-off for the individual title.  The bronze went to 2000 Olympic bronze medallist Al Eid who had two fences down in the three-horse decider.

THE ONES TO BEAT
The talented and experienced Saudi team were always going to be the ones to beat, and with four clears in the first round went straight into the lead while the UAE carried just three faults collected by Sheikha Latifah and Kalaska de Semily when both Sheikh Majid Al Qasimi (Co-Jack) and Ahmed Al Junaibi (Picobello Wodiena) left the course intact – fourth-line rider Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum (Dubai’s Pride) providing the discount eight-fault score.

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FEI Championships 2010 – Asian Games

Japan took team and individual gold in the Eventing Championships at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China today. Kenki Sato (2nd from left) claimed the individual title. Photo: Laixiongmin.

KENKI TAKES INDIVIDUAL TITLE AS JAPAN DOES THE DOUBLE IN EVENTING

Guangzhou (CHN), 20 November 2010 – Kenki Sato claimed individual gold and helped Japan to secure the team title in Eventing at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China today.  The Buddhist monk, who finished 35th with his other ride, Hop and Skip, at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky in October, was lying second with Toy Boy after dressage and added nothing further to his score to take the individual honours ahead of Korea’s Jai Sik Cheon.

Sato’s team-mate Yoshiaki Oiwa took individual bronze, and Japan scored a convincing victory in the team competition, finishing with a 26-point advantage over the silver medallists from Thailand while China pipped the squad from Hong Kong by the narrowest of margins in the battle for team bronze.

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FEI Championships 2010 – Asian Games

(L to R) Silver medallist Quzandria Nur Binti Mahama Fathil from Malaysia, gold medallist Young Shik Hwang of Korea and bronze medallist Mohd Qabil Mahamad Fathil from Malaysia. Photo: Laixiongmin.

DOUBLE GOLD FOR KOREA IN DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS AT ASIAN GAMES

Guangzhou (CHN), 18 November 2010 – It was all gold for the Republic of Korea in the Dressage Championships at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China this week.  On Sunday Dong Deon Kim, Kyun Sub Kim, Young Shik Hwang and Jun Sang Choi scooped the team title ahead of the host nation, and then Hwang, who celebrated his 20th birthday last Saturday and who dominated from the outset, came back to claim the individual title ahead of Malaysian siblings Quzandria Nur Binti Mahama Fathil and her brother Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil.

This was the fourth back-to-back team gold medal result for Korea, and their fifth in total since equestrian sport became part of the Asian Games programme at the ninth edition in Delhi, India in 1982.  The Asian Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years and the 2010 fixture, which began on 12 November and runs through to 27 November, includes a total of 476 events in 42 sports.  Riders from 16 countries are lining out in the three equestrian disciplines of Dressage, Eventing and Jumping.

Continue reading FEI Championships 2010 – Asian Games