Wrestlers from Pakistan and China will be allowed to participate in the forthcoming Asian Championships scheduled to be held between February 18 and 23 in the national capital, the foreign ministry has given its assurance to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bushan. WFI Secretary Vinod Tomar confirmed this to . "Our president met the Foreign Minister (S Jaishankar) and he got the assurance that the process (for allowing the players to participate) will be completed as soon as possible. We had written to the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and in addition to that, our president met him," he said.
The participation of the Pakistani wrestlers had become doubtful after the Indian High Commission in Islamabad refused to accept Pakistan wrestlers' passports and visa applications. Earlier, the WFI had sent an invite to its Pakistan counterpart following which the latter started the visa process.India had recently suspended the e-visa facility for Chinese travellers in the wake the corona virus outbreak which has claimed hundreds of lives till now. In India itself, three positive cases of corona virus have been reported in Kerala. Last year, after India denied visas to Pakistani shooters in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had banned the country from hosting international events. It was lifted only after written assurance from the Indian government. United World Wrestling (UWW) has already warned India that it must provide visa to all participating countries or else it may face sanctions.
( With inputs from IANS )