SEPANG, Oct 7 — National equestrian champion Mohd Qabil Ambak Mahamd Fathil has hinted he would say goodbye to the sport after successfully fulfilling his dream of winning the individual dressage gold at the recent Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.
The 43-year-old athlete admitted he is ‘tired’ of working hard for the country for so long, besides considering his advancing age and wanting to spend more time with his family after this.
“I think it has been a long time in this sport, 28 years, and I feel tired, but Alhamdulilah, every time I compete, I do not go home empty-handed.
“I have participated in the Asian Games six times, and finally after waiting for a long time, I won gold. Thank you to my parents, who have given me a lot of support and encouragement since I was ten years old, regardless of money. Without them none of this would have happened,” he said.
Qabil was speaking to the press upon his return from Hangzhou at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today.
At the same time, he said he will not compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after missing several previous qualifying events.
However, the Kuala Lumpur-born athlete is not sorry for the decision because participating in the Olympic Games consumes a lot of money and faces tough competition to challenge for the medal position.
In the meantime, Qabil hopes the parties involved, including the Equestrian Association of Malaysia (EAM), will draw up a long-term plan to unearth new talent in the sport so that equestrian continues to bring proud success to the country.
On September 28, he made proud history when he won Malaysia’s first gold in equestrian at the Asian Games.
The competition at the Tonglu Equestrian Center saw Qabil and his horse Rosenstolz collecting a total of 75,780 points, thereby eliminating the defending champion Jacqueline Siu of Hong Kong, who had to settle for silver (73,450 points), while India’s Anush Agarwalla took home the bronze (73,030 points).
He was the silver medalist in the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia and collected two bronzes each in the 2010 edition in Guangzhou, China and the 2006 edition in Doha, Qatar, in the same event.
Meanwhile, EAM president Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman is grateful that his investment of RM100,000 to bring Mohd Qabil’s horse to Hangzhou from Europe bore fruit with historic success in China.
He added that EAM will request the help of the Ministry of Youth and Sports to get at least three horses of quality breeds to help their athletes clinch more victories on the international stage.
— Bernama
