Fouaad elated after Arjuna declaration

PUNE: Asian Games silver medallist Fouaad Mirza, who has been training in Europe and inching closer to Olympic qualification standard, was overwhelmed after his name was recommended for the prestigious Arjuna Award, which will be conferred by the President of India on August 29 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Fouaad, who is from the Embassy International Riding School, Bengaluru, was selected for this year’s award for his outstanding achievement at the international stage, specially the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

“I am overwhelmed with this announcement and grateful to the selection committee of Sports Awards who all have considered me suitable for the Arjuna Award, the pioneer of sports recognition in India,” said Fouaad Mirza.

“It will be my honour to be felicitated at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. I am also grateful to Jitu Virwani and Embassy International Riding School who guided and supported me in my sports career without which I wouldn’t have been able to achieve my dreams,” he added.

Fouaad Mirza’s performance helped the Indian Equestrian team, also comprising Rakesh Kumar, Ashish Malik and Jitender Singh win the silver for the Indian team. Fouaad’s high performance score helped bring up the Indian team’s ranking, resulting in an another silver for India.

Speaking about the prestigious moment the Chairman & Managing Director of Embassy Group Jitu Virwani said, “This is a proud moment for the Indian Equestrian sport, I am delighted to see Fouaad Mirza being honored with the Arjuna Award. We at Embassy Group acknowledge his consistent performance and dedication to the Equestrian sport. We wish him all the best and support Fouaad in his journey leading to the Olympics 2020.”