India trying to block Australia-based Usman’s Olympics participation

KARACHI: Indian authorities are trying to politicise the participation of Australia-based Pakistan-origin rider Usman Khan’s participation in Tokyo Olympics by raising objection to his horse’s name.

India has shown reservations over the name of the horse ‘Azad Kashmir’ through which Pakistan’s Australia-based rider Usman Khan has qualified for this year’s Tokyo Olympics in eventing event of equestrian.

According to a report of the Hindustan Times, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has sought legal opinion to check if the matter would fall under the purview of the Olympic Charter’s Rule 50 which provides a framework to protect the neutrality of sport and the Olympic Games.

According to Rule 50, “no kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” The paper added that naming a horse after a region “invaded and occupied by Pakistan in 1947” may well fall afoul of that rule. “Political neutrality has to be maintained at the Olympics at any cost,” said IOA president Narinder Batra.

Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) is trying to resolve the matter. “We are working on it and have almost completed our home work. The issue can be resolved,” an official of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) told ‘The News’ on Thursday.

Hindustan Times has also quoted an official of Equestrian Federation of Pakistan (EFP) without mentioning his name. The official told the newspaper that if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) lodges a formal complaint with the body, then it will take the matter up with Usman. “He has chosen the name of the horse and qualified with the same horse, so I don’t think the horse’s name can be changed at this moment,” an EFP official told the paper.

“If it becomes an issue then we’ll first check if Usman is flexible with changing the name. But then we can always use its FEI identity instead of the name,” the paper quoted the EFP official as saying.

thebridge.in, an Indian website, has reported that Mohammad Irfan Zaafar, Head of IT and Communication at EFP, said that they would request Usman to change the name of the horse. “If it becomes an issue then we will first check if Usman is flexible with changing the name,” the website said while quoting Irfan.

But POA chief Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan told ‘The News’ that no EFP official had given a statement to India’s media. “The man who has given statement to India’s media is not the representative of EFP. He had been sacked way back and is no more working with the federation,” Arif said.

EFP president Dr Farooq Ahmed told ‘The News’ that India’s media had not contacted the EFP. “India’s media have neither contacted me, nor my secretary,” Farooq said. Sources close to Usman said that he had no political or other motives behind the name.

This correspondent has learnt that Usman purchased the horse named “Here-to-Stay” from Belinda Isbister of Australia in April 2019, and renamed him Azad Kashmir. Usman has followed book rules of both the world equestrian governing body (FEI) and Equestrian Australia. Usman has also paid both the bodies while changing the name of his horse which he will be fielding with in the Olympics.

Usman has competed in several international events with the horse and no one objected. It is pertinent to mention here that India’s Fouaad Mirza has also qualified for Olympics in the same event in which Usman will be competing. According to a data, FEI has got multiple names under Kashmir from the UAE and European countries.