PETALING JAYA: Qabil Ambak will not be defending his Asian Games equestrian gold medal but he believes newly crowned SEA Games champion Megan Ding has what it takes to do so.
Qabil feels the 17-year-old Megan is capable of extending Malaysia’s strong podium legacy in the September’s edition in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, next year.
At the last Asian Games in Hangzhou three years ago, Qabil made history by winning the nation’s first ever equestrian gold medal after he came out tops in the individual dressage event.
Qabil was 43 when he scored an impressive 75.780 points for his eighth career Asian Games medal, adding to three silver and four bronze medals won in previous editions.
Except for 2014 edition in Incheon, South Korea, Malaysia have always returned home with an equestrian medal from either dressage or showjumping discipline.
Qabil, who served as the dressage coach for the recent Thailand SEA Games, said work would start soon on assembling a team to compete at the Asian Games.
“From what I’ve seen at the SEA Games, we already have two riders - Megan and Diani Lee Cheng Ni - who are strong enough for Asian Games standards.
“We need to find two more to be able to form a team for dressage,” said Qabil, who was pleased to see Megan continue Malaysia’s golden legacy in equestrian at the SEA Games.
It was Qabil who first scouted her a year ago and asked whether she would consider riding for Malaysia.
Megan, who is now studying in Holland, delivered an outstanding performance in the final to win the individual freestyle competition and become the youngest winner in SEA Games history.
“Megan not only won but the score she earned in the final was the highest ever seen at the SEA Games stage.
“Her score, in fact, is good enough to win at the Asian Games stage, which is remarkable as she is still a newcomer to the international FEI competition scene.
“I am happy we managed to get her to ride for Malaysia since she has a Malaysian passport although she grew up in Singapore.
“Hopefully, she will consider riding at the Asian Games as she can be a good prospect,” said the 45-year-old, who was pleased to close another chapter of his equestrian journey with the best possible outcome.
“It was not an easy task given in a short period of time to put a team together with a one gold target to achieve.
“But despite limited resources but somehow we made it. The journey started with a plan but there were challenges until the end when Megan’s horse arrived late because of circumstances beyond our control.
“Hopefully, I can continue to use my years of experience to guide the younger riders to reach their goals,” said the 11-time SEA Games winner.
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