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Visa delays may ground lifters
The Indian weightlifting squad might miss the chance to compete in the Sr and Jr Commonwealth Championships at Cyprus due to delays in getting visas, reports Saurabh Duggal.
THE Indian weightlifting squad might miss the chance to compete in the Sr and Jr Commonwealth Championships at Cyprus due to delays in getting visas. The event kicked off on Wednesday.
The contingent was scheduled to leave on Tuesday but till Wednesday it hadn't got the visas. The team has now postponed its trip till Thursday. If the embassy doesn't issue them visas on Thursday, the chances of the lifters competing in the event would become extremely bleak.
"We had submitted the documents five days back but till today they have not issued us visas. Because of the delay, we have postponed our programme. Hopefully, we will get the visas tomorrow," said Indian Weightlifting Federation secretary BR Gulati.
When pointed out that the championships had already started, Gulati said, "If we get the visas by tomorrow also, we can still participate. But if it gets delayed further, it won't we possible for us to compete."
In the event of the Indians not getting the visas by Thursday, it will be the first time ever that the team will be missing the tournament.
Earlier, the Sports Ministry had held back the clearance over the issue of dope-tainted Shailaja Pujari, as the government was waiting for a green signal from the International Weightlifting Federation.
So, did the delay by the Ministry cause further delays in getting the visas? "The delay is only on part of the embassy. No other department should be blamed. We got the ministry's clearance well in time," said Gulati.THE Indian weightlifting squad might miss the chance to compete in the Sr and Jr Commonwealth Championships at Cyprus due to delays in getting visas. The event kicked off on Wednesday.
The contingent was scheduled to leave on Tuesday but till Wednesday it hadn't got the visas. The team has now postponed its trip till Thursday. If the embassy doesn't issue them visas on Thursday, the chances of the lifters competing in the event would become extremely bleak.
"We had submitted the documents five days back but till today they have not issued us visas. Because of the delay, we have postponed our programme. Hopefully, we will get the visas tomorrow," said Indian Weightlifting Federation secretary BR Gulati.
When pointed out that the championships had already started, Gulati said, "If we get the visas by tomorrow also, we can still participate. But if it gets delayed further, it won't we possible for us to compete."
In the event of the Indians not getting the visas by Thursday, it will be the first time ever that the team will be missing the tournament.
Earlier, the Sports Ministry had held back the clearance over the issue of dope-tainted Shailaja Pujari, as the government was waiting for a green signal from the International Weightlifting Federation.
So, did the delay by the Ministry cause further delays in getting the visas? "The delay is only on part of the embassy. No other department should be blamed. We got the ministry's clearance well in time," said Gulati.
