| Fadhil Yunus |
BRUNEI Darussalam national equestrian athlete Pengiran Mohd Nasir bin Pengiran Anak Ja’afar advanced to the final round of the Individual Jumping event with his horse Hunters Canatano Z in the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the 3Q Equestrian Centre yesterday.
The national rider was included among the top 15 and incurred four penalties heading to the final round but he will be looking for a cleaner run to be in contention of medalling the event.
The national rider is in high spirits going into the final round and will be seeking for improvements.
“Canatano was performing great while in regards to my own (performance) there’s still room for improvement, but we’re feeling good for Monday,” he said.
The competition has been further enhanced with more seasoned riders returning to the competition while teams have opted for old heads than assembling a junior side.
“The standard has definitely gone up a lot compared to the SEA Games in Singapore two years ago,” said Pengiran Mohd Nasir.
The country’s sole representative in the jumping event led the pack in the preliminary rounds in the last edition to book his berth in the final round.
With the majority of the riders in his field European-based, Pengiran Mohd Nasir also has similarities having been undergoing his development in Belgium and has actively participated in high level prestigious competitions sanctioned by Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI).
The national rider whose best achievement to date is fifth place in the FEI World Ranking Grand Prix event, has had a busy schedule this year having competed in the CSI** Beervelde in Belgium, CSI* Baltica Tour in Poland, CSI** Knokke in Belgium and CSI** Moorsele in Belgium.
Defending champion Sharmini Christina Ratnasingham is in contention of retaining her title that she won in Singapore in front of a home crowd while the competitor she pipped to gold Catherine Chew will hope that the tables are turned.
Catherine and Sharmini was involved in a faceoff after both posted perfect rounds but the latter edged the former who was at that time backed by home support at her home Games.
Thailand’s Sailub Lertratanachai, bronze medallists from the previous edition, will be eying to add her team bronze to her growing collection.
The final round of the competition will be held on Monday with the top 15 riders to be cut down to the final 10.
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