Usman continues to train for Olympics

KARACHI: Melbourne-based horse-rider Usman Khan is the only Pakistani athlete who is lucky to have the required facility to train for Olympics despite the COVID-19 lockdown.

Although he is training without a coach due to necessary precautions, he keeps contact with his coach on phone and other communication tools to polish his skills for the world’s most prestigious extravaganza.

Usman is among the five Pakistani athletes who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics which will now be held next year in summer after facing one-year postponement because of the virus issue. Usman has made it in the eventing event of equestrian. He will become the first horse-rider to represent Pakistan in Olympics.

“The only challenge is that we can’t train with our coach but all other facilities to train at Olympic level are available at the farmhouse,” Usman told ‘The News’ from Australia. “We are adopting digital methods to train by sharing videos and getting feedback via phone. I hope to broadcast our training live so we can receive real-time feedback,” the rider said.

“My daily schedule has not changed much. We ride seven days a week and about 4-5 hours on the saddle,” he said. “My wake-up time is 4:30am -- riding as many horses as possible. I watch a lot of tutorials and highlights from Rio Olympics and London Olympics to understand the competition and analyse videos of my own past performance,” Usman elaborated.

“In my mind there is no question about fear from the virus. If the end is near, we will embrace it,” he said. “Australia is in stage three lockdown which means you can only go out for food and supplies, exercise, medical care and caregiving, work and education if necessary,” he said.

“The virus curve seems to be slowing down in Australia but restrictions are still in place. Things will be clear by the end of April. Australia’s welfare system takes care of the unemployed, the aged and the homeless,” Usman said.

“Winter is now settling and training conditions are changing. The lockdown has some impact. As you are aware, I resigned from my job to train for the games. We had always planned to remain on the farmhouse for six months. We go out to shop once a week with masks and gloves. We don’t allow anyone on the farmhouse,” Usman said.

Usman last year blasted his way into the Olympics through his horse Azad Kashmir. The only task before him is to maintain his status until the end of qualifiers.

Shooters Gulfam Jospeh, Khalil Akhtar and Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, and javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem are the others who have qualified to represent Pakistan at the Olympics. Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain has already achieved continental quota and plans to further improve his rankings. It means he has also virtually qualified. The country’s premier karateka Saadi Abbas, wrestlers, weightlifters and boxers are also struggling for Olympics seats.