After 15 years of consistent struggle, Melbourne-based Lahore-born Usman Khan made Pakistan proud by being the first Pakistani qualifier of this year’s Tokyo Olympics in the Eventing category of equestrian. Usman will take part in eventing, a combination of cross-country, showjumping, and dressage that will test both the horse and rider in all aspects of horsemanship.
This is the first time that Pakistan will have a rider in equestrian at the Olympics. In the Athens 2004 Olympics, Pakistani rider Nadeem Noon won a place as a wild card entry. But he missed out after the injury of his horse.
Usman Khan’s Childhood:
Usman Khan was seven when he first started horse riding. His father, a military officer at the time, would take him and his younger brother, Salman, for lessons at the Cavalry Ground army riding school in Pakistan‘s eastern city of Lahore.
“Growing up, I always wanted to do something as an athlete for Pakistan,” Khan said. “I wanted to be able to compete at the Olympic level, but motivation has always been about Pakistan,” he added.
Struggles and Hardships:
By the end of 2019, Usman Khan finally became Pakistan equestrian qualifier for the Olympiad in Tokyo. The Federation Equestrian International (FEI) confirmed Pakistan’s entry to the Tokyo Olympics in Feb 2020. Usman Khan became the first Pakistani to achieve this milestone. Khan made it to the Olympic Team after trying for 15 years. He is the oldest member of the team.
Olympics’ participation requires around $400,000. Having already spent $3.5 Million from his own pocket through this time, Usman Khan still had to leave his well-paid IT consulting career in 2019 to fully focus and prepare for Tokyo 2020. “It’s a very expensive game, you know. For the last 15 years, my annual expenses on the sport were around 150,000 Australian dollars. Personally, I have spent so far 3.5 million dollars from my own pocket”, Khan said.
Achievements:
After the Olympic qualification, he won two major FEI events after a wait of 13 years. Once ranked at the bottom of the table, Usman Khan is now ranked at No 1 in FEI Eventing Zone Africa and the Middle East and ranked No 2 in Olympic Ranking Group F.
Horse Azad Kashmir and its Controversy:
Khan’s horse name is Azad Kashmir. In Feb 2020, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) raised an issue with International Olympic Committee (IOC), about a violation of IOC rule-50 and to suspend Pakistani rider. Usman and Azad Kashmir have been competing for 8 months at events where Indian officials were present. IOC tried to pressurize Usman to change the name of his horse ‘Azad Kashmir’. But Usman Khan boldly refused it and engaged Pakistani and Australian lawyers in this matter. Ultimately, this matter was sorted out and ‘Azad Kashmir’ name was never changed. Unfortunately, Azad Kashmir died due to heart failure in September 2020. Now, this has become a greater challenge for Usman Khan.
We hope that Pakistan Government or any Sponsors notices the efforts of Usman Khan and supports him financially. Fingers crossed for the big game!