Visa issues sorted for 22 athletes bound for Asian Championships in Korea: AFI
The visa issues faced by 22 athletes bound for the Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea beginning May 27 has been sorted and the contingent will reach the host country on time, a top official of the national federation said on Thursday.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had named a 59-member team for the May 27-31 continental championships in Gumi, with most of the top stars, except for double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, making the cut.
Chopra missing the event was on expected lines as his focus this season will be the Diamond League Meetings and the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
“We are getting the visas (of the concerned athletes) in the evening (Thursday) through the efforts of the Sports Ministry and the South Korean Embassy. The matter is sorted out,” AFI Secretary General Sandeep Mehta told reporters before the team’s departure here.
It’s learnt that the visas of 22 athletes were delayed due to various reasons.
Out of the 59 athletes, those based at the Thiruvananthapuram training centre will leave for Gumi Thursday night from the Kerala capital itself. Those whose training bases are in Bangaluru, Patiala and Mumbai will also leave on Thursday night from Delhi.
“The athletes will have two to three days of acclimatisation in Korea. We have picked the best team, and we are expecting 25 to 30 medals this time,” Mehta added.
In the 2023 edition of the biennial championships in Bangkok, India won 27 medals (6 gold, 12 silver, 9 bronze) to finish third in the standings behind Japan (16 gold, 11 silver, 10 bronze) and China (8 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze).
“We have also fielded teams in the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays, and we are hoping to qualify for the World Championships,” the AFI secretary general said.
The Indian men’s 4x400m and 4x400m mixed teams failed to qualify for the World Championships through the World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, earlier this month.