Pak wrestlers cleared to take part in Asian Wrestling C’ships

THE IOA AND SPORTS MINISTRY CONVINCED THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS THAT DENYING VISAS TO THE PAKISTANI CONTINGENT COULD LEAD TO STRONG REPERCUSSIONS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE.

NEWDELHI:PAKISTAN wrestlers will be able to participate in the Asian Wrestling Championships here from February 18 after the Indian government cleared their travel documents on Saturday.

However, visas of a 40-member strong Chinese contingent are yet to be cleared and it is highly unlikely that they will get a green signal. The outbreak of coronavirus in China has led to several countries, including India, putting severe travel restrictions.

In a last-minute dash, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Sports Ministry swung into action and convinced the Ministry of Home Affairs that denying visas to the Pakistani contingent could lead to strong repercussions from the International

Olympic Committee in an Olympic year.

The Indian government cleared the participation of four Pakistani freestyle wrestlers, one coach and one referee. The Indian Embassy in Pakistan is closed on Saturday but in a special gesture, the documents of the Pakistan team were processed. Pakistan had all but pulled out of the event.

“We had officially told them (the Wrestling Federation of India) that we will not be able to participate in the event due to visa problems,” said Ghulam Farid, a Pakistan Wrestling Federation official.

“We had asked them to give us the visa before February 15 and United World Wrestling had also said the same. But WFI was not able to manage and therefore we informed our team that we will not be going. Internally we needed some clearance for travel to India and it takes time so we wanted at least an assurance from WFI.”

On Saturday, WFI informed them that their travel has been cleared, and they should collect their passport and visas from the Indian Embassy in Islamabad.