Pakistan Visa issue will be sorted soon: WFI President

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has said that the visa issue faced by Pakistani wrestlers ahead of Asian Junior Championship will be sorted soon.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not given visas to Pakistani players who are slated to take part in Asian Junior freestyle, Greco Roman style and women wrestling championship which will be held at KD Jadhav wrestling stadium, Indira Gandhi sports complex, New Delhi from July 17 to July 22.

"I have fixed an appointment with the Home Minister regarding this and hopefully the clearance will be given soon," Bhushan Sharan said.

The President further stated that Pakistan is a member of United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body of wrestling, and it cannot be debarred from participating in the tournament.

Bhushan Sharan, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP), warned India against not providing visas to Pakistani wrestlers as it can invite strict action from UWW.

"When the tournament is allotted to a particular country then that country is responsible for providing teams with Visa. If we failed to do so the UWW, being an independent organization, can take strict action against us," he warned.

The MP asserted that once the gravity of the matter is explained to the Home Minister, the visa issue will be sorted out.

Seventeen countries including all strong wrestling countries like Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Tajikistan in addition to India will be participating in this 6 days competition.

In the championship, around 146 freestyle 117 Greco Roman and 100 women wrestlers will be competing for 10 gold, 10 silver, and 20 bronze medal in each style.