CHENNAI: THE Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) on Monday night issued a statement announcing their withdrawal from the Asian Senior Championships, scheduled to begin in the city from Wednesday.
“We regret to inform you that the PSF has been forced to withdraw its squash contingent from participation in the 19th Asian Senior Squash Championship, 2017,” Geo TV quoted a statement from PSF.
The PSF accuses the Indian High Commission (IHC), who decided to issue visas in the last minute, of using delaying tactics to ensure that Pakistan players are kept out of the event. “India decided to issue visa on 25th, thus ensuring that players should not meet the deadline due to airline schedules. IHC, after returning all passports in the afternoon without visas, decided to offer visas at the last minute today (Monday). It means visas would be endorsed on 25 April and players would start on 26 April to reach India on 27 April,” the statement added.
That, of course, would have created a logistical nightmare as the tournament begins on April 26, with all the four players from Pakistan scheduled to play on the opening day. Even otherwise, the players would have ideally wanted to reach on Saturday — PSF claims tickets had been booked on that date — to get acclimatised.
The statement ends by saying that the body will take this issue to the Asian Squash Federation as well as the World Squash Federation. “PSF has great concern over these delaying tactics and will raise its concerns up to highest level, as conduct of such a prestigious championship in absence of Pakistan is meaningless.”
This is bound to become another of the ‘he said, she said’ controversies that have plagued sporting relationships between the two countries of late. Pakistan’s kabaddi side was set to take part in the World Cup last year before their name was removed almost overnight. The Under-19 hockey team was going to be a fixture at the Junior World Cup. That too did not materialise.
But when the Pakistan Sports Board, an official arm of the Ministry of Education, had listed the team as playing at the Asian Individual Squash Championships, it was assumed that formalities had been taken care off. Two of them — Sadia Gul and Sammer Anjum — were given visas to take part in the Chennai leg of the JSW Indian Squash Circuit in October 2015.
What makes the case curiouser is the fact that Farhan Zaman, who was supposed to play here, was granted a visa and did take part in the South Asian Games in Shillong and Guwahati in February 2016.
Cyrus Poncha, the Tournament Director, was himself looking for answers at the official pre-tournament press conference on Monday. “So far, we have not received anything from the Pakistan Squash Federation,” he had said. “There was a communication from them on Friday saying they were still waiting for visas.”It did come in the end. But according to Pakistan, it was too little too late.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com