NEW DELHI: Even as the uncertainty over Pakistani wrestlers’ participation in the upcoming Asian Championships here was finally cleared after they were granted visas by the Union government, Chinese grapplers have not been granted visas due to the coronavirus outbreak there, a top official of the national federation said on Monday.
Wrestling Federation of India assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told PTI that the government has denied visas to the 40-strong Chinese contingent.
“We have got to know that the government has not granted visas to the Chinese contingent and so they are not taking part in the Championships,” Tomar said.
“The world is grappling with the issue of coronavirus and so health of the athletes is the primary concern now. It is understandable why the government has not given visas to them,” he added.
He, however, said that the WFI is yet to get a formal communication from the government.
The Indian government has cancelled all e-visas for Chinese nationals due to the outbreak that has killed more than 1,500 people so far.
Travel restrictions have been imposed by many countries and flights also suspended to and from cities in China.
Several international sports events in China have also been postponed, moved or even cancelled owing to the outbreak, including the women’s Olympic football qualifying event, World Athletics Indoor Championships, F1 Grand Prix in Shanghai and Asia/Oceania Olympic Boxing Qualifiers.
Asked what could be United World Wrestling’s reaction on the denial of visas to the Chinese wrestlers, Tomar said, “We do not see any issues here, it is not something which happens in normal times. We are dealing with a grave health issue facing the world.
“It is not happening just in this championship, other countries have also done the same to Chinese athletes in other sporting events. Moreover, the UWW has not told us anything or given any direction about the Chinese wrestlers in the past week or so.”
Talking about the granting of visas to the Pakistani wrestlers on Saturday, Tomar said, “There could be issues had we not granted visas to the Pakistani wrestlers. So, we tried hard to get it done. But in case of Chinese wrestlers, it is for the health and safety of the participating athletes.”
Pakistan is sending a contingent of four freestyle wrestlers, one coach and one referee in the Championships to be held here from February 18 to 23.
The Pakistani wrestling contingent will, thus, become the first team from the neighbouring country to travel to India for a sporting event after the Pulwama terror attack in February last year.
The four Pakistan wrestlers who will be competing are Muhammad Bilal (57kg), Abdul Rehman (74kg), Tayab Raza (97kg) and Zaman Anwar (125kg).
The denial of visas to Pakistani wrestlers could have led to serious repercussions for India, including a possible ban on the Wrestling Federation of India by the world body (UWW), that too in an Olympic year.
