China's Alex Hua Tian riding Don Geniro competes during the Eventing Cross Country Team and Individual on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Sea Forest Cross-Country Course on Aug 1. [Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images]
The Chinese equestrian eventing team, led by the most famous Chinese equestrian, Alex Hua Tian, completed their first team competition for the Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020 on Aug 2.
This was Hua's third Olympic appearance representing China. The 31-year-old competed in both the individual and team eventing competitions after securing a berth for the Tokyo Games at a special qualifier held in Saumur, France, in May 2019.
Hua Tian joined his teammates Sun Huadong, Bao Yingfeng, and Liang Ruiji, who competed in team eventing for the first time ever. The Chinese team ranked 9th among 14 teams worldwide.
Hua said that the Chinese team has adopted a relatively conservative and safe strategy to ensure the completion of the game, considering that their opponents are very experienced. Hua took the team's debut in Tokyo as a milestone for China.
Hua Tian, who made history 13 years ago by becoming the world's youngest Olympic event rider at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, also competed in Rio 2016 and ranked eighth in the individual event.
Sun Huadong riding Lady Chin V't Moerven Z competes during the Eventing Cross Country Team and Individual of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games on Aug 1. [Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images]
Both Sun Huadong and Bao Yingfeng come from the Jiangsu Equestrian Team, which is sponsored by local sports bureaus in Jiangsu province, Wuxi, and Jiangyin, as well as Jiangyin-based Heilan Group.
Sun and Bao gave it a go in Italy on Nov 17, 2019, in the face of severe weather, to complete the four-star long-distance race, securing the qualification for the Chinese equestrian eventing team's debut at Tokyo 2020.
