Down but not out: The tragic yet inspiring tale of Pakistan's top eventer Usman Khan

In early 2020, Usman Khan was on top of the world.

Riding a 13-year-old New Zealand thoroughbred – Azad Kashmir – he had become the first eventer from Pakistan to qualify for the Olympics. Unfortunately, the 2020 Olympics, penciled in for the summer, were postponed due to Covid-19.

But the Lahore-born, Australia-based Usman stayed focused and was all set to make a bid for an elusive Olympic medal for Pakistan in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

But then tragedy struck.

On September 17, 2020, Azad Kashmir passed away due to a sudden heart attack. With his demise, Usman’s dream of making his Olympic debut seemed shattered.

Azad Kashmir’s passing was just the start of a tragic period for Usman, who remains one of the unluckiest athletes ever to qualify for the Olympics.

In fact, he has done that twice. Usman also qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris but fate had another episode of disappointment for him in store.

Here is Usman’s story.

Let’s begin with his most recent heartbreak.

So close yet so far

At a time when Pakistanis are still celebrating Arshad Nadeem’s historic Olympic triumph in the French capital we must spare a thought for Usman Khan.

After unluckily missing out on a chance to compete in Tokyo, Usman made all out efforts for the Paris Games. An Australian national, Usman moved to Paris in a bid to ensure that he is ready to launch a medal campaign at this summer’s Olympics.

Usman rode his way into the Paris Olympics last year with his splendid feat in the qualifiers in Ireland.

Usman Khan in action during an event. FEI

Pakistan was the first nation in Group F which qualified for the Olympics. Usman, son of a retired Pakistan Army major, established his stables at a site which was hardly at a 45-minute drive from the zone which hosted the Paris Olympics.

Usman had qualified for the Paris Games. But mere qualification wasn’t enough for him to compete in Paris. He had to maintain his status until the expiry of the qualification timeline.

Usman featured in a few events but missed a crucial one in South Africa due to financial issues which caused his demotion to the reserve list for Paris Games. It meant that if any eventer, who had qualified, would skip Olympics due to injuries or any other reason, Usman would have gotten the opportunity to replace him.

However, just weeks before the Paris Games, Usman decided to withdraw from the quadrennial spectacle due to technical reasons. Usman took that option as his horse Eden Du Veret (Mirage) was too young and inexperienced for such a major event and he wanted to further groom it for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

During the Paris Olympic qualification period Usman created more national records. He was on course for a gold in Portugal, leading Japanese rider Yoshiaki Oiwa, who later won bronze in Paris 2024.

Usman had left no stone unturned in his bid to make his Olympic debut.

He even bought a new horse out of his savings after failing to find any sponsors.

Tragedy strikes before Tokyo

What happened in the lead up to Paris Olympics was nothing compared to what happened to Usman before the 2020 Games in Tokyo. He qualified for the Games but was in danger of losing his Olympic spot when Azad Kashmir died. Usman had to revise the qualification with his new horse (Kasheer).

And he almost did that before tragedy struck again.

In May 2021 the duo met with a fatal accident at the FEI Naracoorte Horse Trials CIC-4* Olympic Games Qualifiers in Australia just before the finish line.

Usman’s win seemed almost certain as the combination commenced the cross country. A national record was in sight and possibly a new chapter in international equestrian history was about to be written. A clear round would mean he would become the first Pakistani to win an Olympic Qualifier, the first ever in the Southern Hemisphere.

He would also become the first Asian rider to win in Australia. Usman and Kasheer soared together and cleared all hurdles. The rhythm of the duo was so good that they averaged a pace of 35 kilometer per hour.

They were about 50 meters away from the finish line with only one fence to clear, a record in sight, and Olympic qualification at stake. Usman and Kasheer jumped the last fence and cleared it. Kasheer hit his right knee on take-off. The duo tragically fell metres from the finish line after clearing the last fence. Usman fell so close to the finish line that he wanted to crawl towards it. Kasheer had a rotational fall and landed on his neck. Usman survived but Kasheer sadly died on impact.

Usman fell head down and Kasheer landed on him.

“Allah is our witness. We tried. We are not afraid of death. I do this for Pakistan and for my people,” Usman had told this correspondent in an exclusive chat.

“Kasheer was a six figure dollars investment. It’s not about money but about having lost another teammate. It’s really sad,” he added.

Usman Khan is Pakistan's finest eventer. FEI

‘LA 2028 is my next target’

Any other person would have given up on his Olympic dream after a series of major setbacks. But not Usman. He has now set his sights on not just qualifying for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 but winning a medal for Pakistan.

Usman had decided to stay back in France and will be making all-out effort to once again qualify for the world’s major event.

“Yes, definitely LA 2028 is my next target and for that I will do my level best,” Usman told Nukta from Australia.

“I need two to three horses for LA 2028 in order to create a medal chance for the nation,” he said.

Whether he will manage to do that remains to be seen. So far, fate has been unkind to him. He has spent more than 2million USD from his own pocket to stay in the hunt.

Perhaps it’s time that Usman’s luck will change. And Pakistan, too, should start showing some support. If Arshad Nadeem can do it, then so can Usman Khan.