Majid relishes moment of glory

Guangzhou: Shaikh Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasimi was relishing his moment of glory after winning the equestrian team silver in jumping at the 16th Asian Games on Monday.

"Five years ago it would have been funny to think that I could have been on a podium at an Asian Games. But today this is a reality and it will probably take some time for the feeling to sink in," Shaikh Majid told Gulf News.

"Maybe I will first go on a holiday and then think what we need to do next only after that," he added.

With Saudi Arabia taking the gold, the young UAE quartet had to fight in a jump-off with Hong Kong to decide the silver medallists. Shaikha Latifa Al Maktoum came in first and drew a four-point penalty after knocking down the seventh obstacle, while Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum drew just one penalty point on the time. But it was Shaikh Majid cementing the silver with a flawless effort on the 13 obstacles placed on the course.

"This medal is even more special as we came here with a young team. I think this is one of the youngest teams here when compared to all these experienced riders. We don't have too much experience, but we have worked hard to be here," said the 25-year-old.

‘Learning experience'

Prior to coming here, the team was camped in France and before that was placed 17th at the World Equestrian Games held in Kentucky, USA. "Participating in Kentucky was a huge learning experience for all of us," Shaikh Majid admitted.

And this experience ultimately proved to be their strong point. "All teams are equal here so we were very happy that we did well in the first round. That really pumped us up," he said.

However, the jump-off was a bit of a test on the nerves after the UAE ended with the team bronze in the same event four years ago in Doha Games. "There was a bit of a pressure in the jump-off and we did not want the same position. We wanted to move up at least a step," he smiled.

"The team spirit was really high and we fought well together. We really backed each other and this made winning a really great experience."