CHENNAI: Hours after TNIE highlighted the plight of Indian wrestlers, who were declined visas by the US Embassy in New Delhi for the U23 World Championships, United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body of the sport, swung into action and assured remedial action. It was learnt that Nenad Lalovic, UWW chief, had a conversation with Sanjay Kumar Singh, president of Wrestling Federation of India on Wednesday evening.
"The UWW president asked the WFI to write to the world body highlighting the issue," Sanjay Kumar told TNIE. "He assured that he will speak to USA Wrestling and request it to have a conversation with their Embassy in New Delhi. We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved by Thursday," added Sanjay Kumar.
Notably, before his interaction with the WFI, Lalovic spoke to TNIE and said he will have a talk with the national federation before commenting on the issue.
In a letter to the UWW president, which is in possession of this mast, the WFI said 16 of its wrestlers appeared for their visa interviews at the US Embassy in New Delhi and unfortunately, the visa applications of nine wrestlers were refused, reportedly due to their young age (below 20 years) and unemployment status. "We are seriously concerned about the remaining 14 wrestlers, who are scheduled to appear at the Embassy tomorrow (Thursday) and are also below 20 years of age and currently unemployed," read the letter.
The Indian federation also requested the UWW to approach USA Wrestling and urge them to communicate with the US Embassy regarding the nature of the competition. "The U23 World Wrestling Championships are specifically meant for wrestlers in the age group of 18–23 years, and therefore, it is natural that many members of our team are young and may not yet be employed. Your kind intervention with USA Wrestling in this matter would be highly appreciated and may help facilitate the visa process for the remaining wrestlers," the letter further said.
A WFI official also told this mast that USA Wrestling also got in touch with the federation and assured it of a solution. "Our USA counterpart said it will get in touch with the Embassy and brief them about the tournament, which in turn will resolve the issue," said the official.
Earlier in the day, the Indian federation mailed the US Embassy, expressing concern over refusal of visas to Indian wrestlers. "Today, 24 participants appeared at the Embassy for their visa appointments, out of which 16 were wrestlers. Unfortunately, 09 wrestlers were refused visas, reportedly due to their employment status and are below 20 years of age. We are deeply concerned about the remaining wrestlers who are scheduled to appear for their visa appointments tomorrow (Thursday), as most of them are also currently unemployed and below 20 year of age," the letter said.
A total of 30 wrestlers (10 each in three styles — men's Greco-Roman and freestyle, and women's wrestling) were selected to compete in the competition. They will be accompanied by coaches, medical staff and referees for the event.
If things go as per plan, the first batch of wrestlers and support staff are scheduled to leave at 11 AM on October 10. They will reach Las Vegas, where the competition is scheduled between October 12 and 18, via London. Women wrestlers will leave in the next batch two later while the men freestyle grapplers will fly out on October 14.
The wrestlers, who were denied visas, are Samarth Gajanan Mhakave, Dheeraj Kumar Malik, Sachin Kumar, Nikhil, Hardeep, Parveen, Ahilya Shatrughn Shinde, Neha Sharma and Neha.
Only a couple of months ago, Indian wrestlers, heading for U20 Worlds scheduled in Bratislava, Slovakia, had faced visa hurdles. Their visa interviews were delayed raising concerns over the team's participation. Later, it was unofficially communicated to the WFI that alleged human trafficking by another Indian team from different sport led to delay in visa appointment by the Slovakia Embassy.