Saudi Arabia added another chapter to its remarkable track record at the Asian Games and secured its fifth title in the team jumping event at the sixth edition, when the final pair of Ramzy Al Duhami and „Untouchable 32“ secured the decisive victory and the gold medal with a flawless ride. The defending champions were the only nation to complete both rounds in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan without any penalties. The United Arab Emirates and Japan both finished the competition with four penalties, so the silver medal was decided by time. The UAE prevailed with a lead of 7.35 seconds: Their three evaluated rounds totaled 218.77 seconds, while Japan took 226.12 seconds.
Parcours designer Louis Konickx set up 12 obstacles and 15 jumps for both rounds at the JRA Equestrian Park in Tokyo. The 510-meter long opening course featured a double combination on the eighth obstacle, followed by a late triple combination on the eleventh obstacle. In the second round, the course extended over 515 meters, with the double combination being moved to the sixth obstacle and the triple combination appearing on the ninth obstacle.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates went into the second round with zero points each, while Japan had four and Qatar five points. Japan had no disqualification result as it competed with only three pairs, but Taizo Sugitani, Koki Saito and Eiken Sato all remained faultless and left the total score unchanged. Sato admitted that the pressure was as great as it had not been for a long time, and there was a moment of shock at the finish line: „When I heard the spectators scream, I thought we had thrown the obstacle over,“ said Sato. „My first thought was: ‚It’s over.‘ When I looked up and saw that everything was still standing, I knew that I had not intended to throw the final obstacle over.“
The United Arab Emirates had entered the round with zero penalty points, but four penalty points for both Abdulla Almheiri and Omar Al Marzooqi left them tied with Japan with four points each. Thanks to their faster overall time in the second round, they were ahead of the hosts.
For Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahman Alrajhi with Lorenzo ES and Khaled Almobty with Diana du Plevau Z remained flawless, while Saad Alajmi and Davenport received four penalty points. One medal was secured, but Al Duhami was able to secure the gold medal with a flawless ride, because this would have resulted in Alajmi’s result being wiped out and Saudi Arabia would have been left with zero points alone. „It was a lot of pressure,“ said Al Duhami. „The team relied on me, and I couldn’t afford any mistakes, so I had to be very focused. I was the team’s last rider and have a lot of experience. I had to deliver my performance on this day, and I was very happy that I managed it.“ Al Duhami and Untouchable 32 delivered a flawless performance, so Saudi Arabia as the only team finished the competition with zero penalty points. The UAE won silver, Japan secured bronze, and Qatar took fourth place – only one penalty point behind the medal standings.
„I am overjoyed,“ said Al Duhami. „A gold medal is always something beautiful. It has been a long journey and a lot of hard work, and the team has succeeded.“ For Alajmi, the gold came at his debut at the Asian Games and with a new partner. The experienced 15-year-old Davenport had already competed internationally at the 1.60-m level together with Alajmi’s teammate Almobty in August. „I was under enormous pressure, but with a team like these riders you can only focus on yourself because you know that they will put in a great round,“ said Alajmi. „That made it much easier for me.“
While Alajmi had success with a new partner, Al Duhami and „Untouchable 32“ built on years of shared experience. They had already won the gold medal in the team competition at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou together, before placing 11th in the individual standings at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and representing Saudi Arabia at this year's FEI Jumping World Championships in Aachen (GER).
On Sunday, the individual title will be awarded.