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Equestrian rider Qabil may see his Tokyo Olympic dream shattered
Qabil Ambak may not have the “horsepower” to realise his dream of becoming the first Malaysian equestrian rider to compete in the Olympics after a setback in Europe. He has been deported from Denmark after overstaying his visa. Now, he fears he can’t return in time to earn the ranking points to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
PETALING JAYA: Qabil Ambak’s quest to become the first Malaysian rider to compete in the Olympic equestrian competition is in jeopardy.
The Indonesia Asian Games silver medallist was forced to cut short his stay in Europe after he overstayed his visa in Denmark recently.
The 39-year-old has been based in Denmark and going around Europe to compete in equestrian events since the start of the year but was deported.
Qabil is worried that he may not be able to return in time to compete for the ranking points in the Tokyo Olympic qualifying campaign, which comes to an end on Dec 31.
Qabil has competed in 10 competitions in dressage in Europe so far and is the third ranked Asian rider on 748 points behind South Korean Young Shik-hwang (773) and New Zealand’s Wendi Williamson (776).
Qabil will make the cut for the Tokyo Olympics as long as he is one of the top two ranked riders from Asia by Dec 31.
“I’m fighting closely with the New Zealand and Korean athletes. I’m going to miss a competition in Moscow as I’m unable to return to Europe. I maybe have three or four competitions to go before the qualification period ends.
“I was supposed to stay not longer than 90 days on a six-month visa but it’s my fault that I overlooked this. Maybe because I was tired due to running around to compete in the competitions in Europe.
“The Danish immigration also made a mistake in allowing me to enter back before realising that I overstayed my visa,” said Qabil, who is hopeful things can be sorted out in time.
“It’s an honest mistake and I made an appeal with the Denmark embassy in Singapore last week to look into my case but they say that the process takes one to eight months time.
“I don’t have the luxury of waiting that long because the Olympic ranking period will end by end of this year. The gap between the second and third best Asian rider is small and I’m confident I can make it to the Olympics if I can get my visa sorted out in time.
“I have been involved in equestrian for 25 years and won many medals, so the Olympics is the pinnacle I hope to achieve.
“I hope I can be the first Malaysian to ride at the Olympics and I have appealed to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria, National Sports Council and Wisma Putra to help me.
“I’m very sad when this happened as I spent money and effort to pursue my dream,” said Qabil, who appealed to the media to help highlight his predicament.