Qatar’s Maryam al-Boinin surged into lead after the day one of the Asian Equestrian Federation (AEF) U-21 Dressage championship yesterday. At the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) Indoor Arena, al-Boinin was occupying the top spot after three rounds. The Qatari rider scored 65.714, 64.464 and 63.571 points in three rounds respectively for a total tally of 64.583.
Rosad Febrisamina of Indonesia was at the second spot with an average score of 62.560. Febrisamina is coming off after winning the zonal qualifier in Indonesia. Indian riders Sudipti Hajela and Raunaq Anand occupied third and fourth places. Hajela scored 61.786, while Raunaq had 59.821 points in her kittly.
Other Qatari riders Jassim Mohammad al-Kuwari (55.595) and Sauod al-Boinin (53.810) were at 12th and 14th position respectively. The championship has attracted 22 riders from Singapore, India, Malaysia, China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, besides Qatar. The qualifiers for the championship were held Indonesia last October. 
Today, the second round of the competition will held with different horses provided by the organising committee. The classification for the Final Competition will be decided by adding together the percentage scores attained in Round 1 and Round 2.
Meanwhile, Hamad Abdulrahman al-Attiyah, president of the Qatari and Asian Equestrian Federation stressed on the importance of holding the continental championship in Doha, the headquarters of the Asian Equestrian Federation. He said that the tournament is a serious preparation for the Equestrian Games to be held in Thailand in December. “This is an important step to encourage the young riders of Asian region. The Doha Round is the final of several rounds held throughout the season as part of a comprehensive championship. As officials of Asian sports, we must encourage the riders to participate and compete for titles,” al-Attiyah said.
“We saw on the first day of the tournament that all the participants were delighted to compete in Doha. We have hosted many world class events, therefore, everyone was certain that the tournament would be organised with excellence. That shows their confidence in our leadership within the Asian Federation, with the great support of the Qatar Olympic Committee under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani,” he added, 
Secretary-General of the Qatari and Asian Equestrian Federation Badr al-Darwish welcomed all participants of the U-21 championship to Doha. He pointed out that the final of the Asian championship has the best of riders who qualified after several stages in Malaysia, China, Taipei, Singapore and Indonesia. The head of observers is an expert from Thailand, while the head of the appeals committee is Ahmad al-Badawi for the final.