China and Pakistan wrestlers given visa assurance

CHENNAI: Ending days of speculation, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Wednesday said it has got assurance from the government on the participation of wrestlers from China and Pakistan in the Asian Championships in New Delhi from February 18 to 23.

The coronavirus outbreak has cast doubts over the participation of China. Pakistan has complained to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and United World Wrestling (UWW) after the Indian High Commission in Islamabad refused to accept their visa applications.

“Today, I met the foreign minister and I’m extremely hopeful there will be no problem. There is a possibility of wrestlers from both countries competing,” Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, WFI president, was quoted as saying. “He has assured me there will be no problem.”

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju also confirmed that wrestlers from both countries will soon be issued visas. “Coronavirus is an epidemic, a health issue and the health ministry and external affairs ministry are taking care of it. It is a sensitive issue but we have to host international events,” Rijiju told the media. “We had a discussion with the IOC and we have told them that we will abide by the Olympic charter.”A 40-member Chinese team including 30 wrestlers is expected to participate. However, all members of the Chinese contingent will undergo tests. Chinese officials had claimed earlier that all their wrestlers and officials tested negative for the virus.

Muhammad Bilal (57kg), Abdul Rehman (74kg), Tayab Raza (97kg) and Zaman Anwar (125kg) with two officials will be the part of the Pakistani contingent. “We got an assurance from WFI that visas will be issued by February 10,” Farid Ali, operational manager of Pakistan Wrestling Federation, told this daily. He added that Pakistani wrestlers have no problems in competing against Chinese wrestlers.

Ready to host qualifier
The WFI chief also said that India will be happy to host the Asian Olympic Games Qualifier if the event is shifted out of Xian, China. The qualifier is slated from March 27 to 29. “If asked, we will definitely host it. Our preparations for the Asian Championships are top-notch. Maybe once they (UWW) see it, they’ll award us the event,” Singh said. The UWW chief Nenad Lalovic had earlier expressed a possibility of moving the event out of China due to the medical emergency. He also said that a decision will be taken in 10-15 days.