Indian archers won't participate in World Championships because of visa rejection by US

India’s archery team has been forced to pull out of the World Archery Championships, to be held in the United States of America, after a majority of the team’s players had their visa applications rejected. 21 of the 31-strong team were not granted visas for the fear that they would not return to the country upon completion of the tournament.

The team members were not the only ones who suffered, as their renowned coach Korean Chae Won Lim also had his visa application rejected.

Archery Association of India board members, incensed by the rejection, have taken the decision to withdraw the entire Indian contingent from the tournament. In a statement to the Press Trust of India, Virendra Sachdeva, the treasurer of the AAI, said that VK Malhotra, President of the Archery Association of India, had chosen to withdraw the team from the tournament “as a mark of protest” even though the AAI had reapplied for visas for the contingent.

Anil Kamineni, General Secretary of the AAI, said the visas had been rejected under section 214 (b) of US visa law, where visa officers are not satisfied that visa holders would return to their home country following the conclusion of the event.

The rejection comes despite the team being in possession of a sanction order from the Government of India and an official invitation from the U.S. Archery Association to participate in the event, which is to be held from the 8th to the 14th of June. The Indian contingent was due to leave for the venue today.

The association attempted to contact FITA, the World Archery Federation, to intervene, but were unsuccessful.

Three Indian coaches, the team’s masseuse and a significant number of the athletes were all denied entry to the U.S.