KL2017: Sultan Mizan will be in action - OCM

Sultan Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin has rejoined the equestrian endurance squad to the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017 (KL2017).

Olympic Council of Malaysia honorary-secretary Datuk Low Beng Choo, who confirmed this with Bernama, said OCM had received a letter from the Equestrian Association of Malaysia (EAM) informing the matter.

She said EAM informed OCM that one of the riders in the squad fell ill and had to withdraw.

"We told them a replacement was necessary and only Sultan Mizan is avalaible," said Low.

Prior to this, Sultan Mizan was reported to have pulled out of the squad because his horse was not fit enough to compete in the extreme sport.

The venue for endurance riding events is the Terengganu International Endurance Park in Lembah Bidong, Terengganu. The endurance riding events start on Aug 20.

Sultan Mizan is among four national riders listed in Federation Equestrian Internationale (FEI) Rankings. He had participated in the World Endurance Riding Championship at TIEP in 2008.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, when met a function in Petaling Jaya, said that with Tuanku Mizan on board, it would certainly fire up the team further.

For the record, Malaysia's best achievement in equestrian was when the country last hosted the SEA Games in 2001. Malaysia won five gold medals, in endurance racing, individual and team showjumping and individual and team dressage.

Malaysia did not send a team to the last edition of the Games in Singapore in 2015. At the 2013 Games in Myanmar, the national squad won three gold, in individual and team edurance racing(80)km) and the other in dressage.

-- BERNAMA