IOA to meet Indian government concerning Pakistan athletes’ visa issue
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Indian Olympic Association secretary general Rajeev Mehta has revealed that he has plans of talking to the government after the general elections regarding Pakistan athletes’ visa issues. At the moment, India is banned by the Olympic world body from hosting future events of international stature.
It all started with the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, following which India had refused to issue visas to Pakistani athletes and an official for a shooting event in New Delhi. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was quick to revoke India’s Olympic qualification status. The issue has since not been solved with Mehta now stating that he would speak to the government about it.
“We will talk to the government after May 23 regarding the visa issues faced by Pakistan players. Pakistan athletes have expressed their wish to participate in this league,” said Mehta, who is also the chairman of Kho Kho Federation of India, reported PTI.
“It is not about only Kho Kho, other sporting events which are part of International Olympic Committee (IOC) are also facing similar problems, which can be solved only after IOA talks to the government,” he added.
India have been hosting a number of leagues across numerous sports and none of them have been with the participation from Pakistan. The latest such sport in the fray has been the ‘Ultimate Kho Kho’, a high-octane franchise-based league, which has been proposed to be held in November this year.
