Australia, China book Paris 2024 tickets in FEI Eventing Nations Cup

GENEVA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Australia and China secured their places at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after finishing as the top two at the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Eventing Nations Cup in Millstreet, Ireland on Sunday.

Australia finished first with 100.8 penalties in the three-day competition, while China ranked second with 122.1 penalties, ahead of Japan and South Africa. New Zealand has already qualified for the Olympics through last year's World Championships.

Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian, who had zero penalties at jumping on Sunday, said, "My teammates made a lot of sacrifice for this qualification. We should be proud of ourselves. I'm so happy for my team, my teammates, myself, the horse, the owner, and for everyone who supports us."

Another Chinese rider Sun Huadong said: "I'm very happy that China qualified for the Paris Olympic Games. We stay at the base camp in the Netherlands until November every season and don't have much time to go back to China. We sacrificed many things for this (qualification), but we did the best this time."

The Chinese riders, supporting staff and officials yelled "Paris" after the award ceremony in ecstasy.

This is the second time the Millstreet International Horse Trials in Cork, Ireland has hosted the FEI Eventing Nations Cup, after first doing so in 2018.

The FEI Eventing Nations Cup Series is a team series established in 2012, featuring a combination of cross country, jumping and dressage.