Equestrian first for Fouaad Mirza

 Jakarta: Fouaad Mirza on Sunday became the first Indian to win an Asian Games individual medal in the Equestrian event since 1982, besides guiding the country to a second-place finish in the team competition here.

Mirza won the silver medal in individual jumping with a score of 26.40, while Japan’s Oiwa Yoshiaki clinched gold with a score of 22.70.

China’s Hua Tian Alex finished in third position to win the bronze medal, with a score of 27.10.

The Indian team, comprising Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Malik and Jitender Singh, apart from Mirza, also claimed silver with a score of 121.30, the feats coming days after their last-minute arrival owing to infighting in the Equestrian Federation of India.

Japan finished on top with a score of 82.40, while Thailand bagged the bronze with a score of 126.70. 

Fouaad topped the dressage and cross-country qualifiers with a score of 22.40 and went into the jumping finals as a favourite.