Tokyo Olympics: China rider Alex Hua Tian in third place heading into eventing’s cross-country leg
- The 31-year-old was second until Germany’s Michael Jung pushed him down to third behind Great Britain’s Oliver Townend, with the cross-country on Sunday
- China lie seventh in the team competition, with Hong Kong’s Thomas Heffernan Ho hoping to move up rankings with Tayberry
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The 31-year-old Hua Tian – China’s first-ever equestrian representative when he made his debut in Hong Kong at the 2008 Beijing Games – occupied second place in the dressage event with Don Geniro until he was pushed down to third by penultimate rider Michael Jung and his horse Chipmunk FRH.
The German collected a measly 21.10 penalty points to take the lead ahead of Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class (23.60) and Hua Tian (23.90).
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The Chinese eventing team – making their Olympic debut – also enjoyed a strong start with Hua Tian, Bao Yingfeng and Sun Huadong in seventh place after the dressage.
“So far so good,” said Hua Tian. “We are all very proud of what we’ve done, but that is balanced with the understanding that tomorrow is cross-country day and everything can change in an instant.”