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Visa and passport issues have, of late, become a major obstacle for Indian athletes, and the badminton contingent was no exception to this ill fate. The Indian shuttlers, who were supposed to fly to Jakarta to play the USD 1,000,000 Indonesian Open, were left with a scare as their passports were not returned on time by the Canadian visa authorities.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Prannoy explained, “We have to leave for Jakarta tomorrow in the evening but our passports are yet to be dispatched. We had sent them for the visa application for the Canada Open later this year but we haven’t received them.” He added, “We have received word that they will be dispatched in time but we are still waiting and not sure whether we’ll get them in time.”
Prannoy even took to Twitter to voice their concerns.
The Indian contingent is scheduled to take part in BWF’s Indonesia and Australian Super Series. The 2017 BWF Super Series is the eleventh edition of the BWF Super Series. At the end of each Super Series calendar year, the top eight players/pairs in each discipline will play in a final tournament known as the Super Series Masters Finals that offers a total prize money of USD 500,000.
Coming from a successful Singapore Open, which saw Sai Praneeth defeat Indonesian shuttler, Jonatan Christie, the Indian shuttlers will be aiming to win the upcoming challenges and establish themselves as prime contenders for the Super Series Masters Finals. The Indian team will be in Jakarta from June 13-18 and then fly to Sydney to participate in the Australian Super Series.
Also, latest reports suggest that female shuttler Sikki Reddy has received her passport after going through a lot of ordeals. The other players are yet to receive confirmation. Sports Minister Vijay Goel has also vowed to look into the matter.
Earlier this year, the men's and women's 4x440m relay teams missed the prestigious IAAF World Championship in Nassau, in the Bahamas, due to a delay in the process of granting transit visas by the American embassy.
Only Asian Games bronze medallist Poovamma and men's 400m national record holder Anas were able to attend the third leg of the Asian Grand Prix.
It is not the first time such an event has taken place. The incident is indeed a setback for Indian athletics and it is of utmost importance that the government starts taking stern measures against such fallacies.
