India's wrestling team got a big blow ahead of the U23 World Championships in Las Vegas after nine of the 16 wrestlers who went through visa interviews at the US Embassy in New Delhi were turned down for visas. It has raised questions on the involvement of the Indian wrestlers at the tournament, which is expected to take place from October 12 to 18.
According to officials with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), eight of the nine wrestlers who were denied visas were aged 20 or below. The ninth wrestler was a woman who had been employed by the Indian Railways only recently and was unable to provide the salary and bank details required during the visa process, the officials said.
India had 30 wrestlers for the U23 World Championships. Of these, 16 wrestlers appeared for their visa interviews on Wednesday along with eight of the support staff. The remaining wrestlers and support staff will attend their visa interviews on Thursday.
The visa refusals have caused India to face uncertainty about its participation in the tournament, and the reason is that a huge portion of the team is young athletes who are still in the early stages of their sporting careers. The U23 category itself is for wrestlers below senior level, so many of the players are students and athletes who are not yet in the formal labor market.
A WFI official said the federation had written to the US Embassy to express their concern over the refusals and copied its communication to its US counterpart. Most of the wrestlers who participate in the age-group tournament, according to the official, are 20 or younger and have not secured formal employment because they are focused on their sport.
According to the article, the issue arose during visa interviews when officials at the US Embassy asked wrestlers aged 20 or below to form a separate queue. The wrestlers were later denied visas, and age and employment status were cited as reasons.
The case involving the woman wrestler was a different one. She was said to be a couple of months older than 20 and had joined the Indian Railways a month or two earlier. She was asked to provide salary information and bank statements during her interview. Her visa was also refused on account of her insufficient details, she said.
The WFI has expressed concern about the remaining members of the squad who are due to attend their interviews. Young athletes participating in international age-group competitions may naturally have limited employment records because they are still developing their sporting careers, the federation has argued.
The federation also noted that Indian wrestlers in those age groups have come to represent the country at international competitions, with some of them winning medals. The WFI has questioned why age and employment status should prevent such athletes from getting visas for an officially sanctioned international sporting tournament.
The recent development comes at a time when Indian U20 wrestlers were already struggling with visa problems before they traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia, for the U20 World Championships. Not only wrestling, but Indian athletes from other sports were also struggling with visas for tournaments across the border, particularly in Schengen countries.
Before the Slovakia event, official sources had told the WFI that human trafficking concerns had led to delays in processing visas for Indian wrestlers ahead of time in many cases. The latest refusals have thus raised fears among Indian sports administrators that such issues could also affect athletes at the international level in the future.
Wrestlers also find the visa refusals especially difficult. The U23 World Championships in Las Vegas are a big international arena for the young athletes to get their feet wet before they go to senior-level competition. If visa problems were to sideline them from the event, there would be a negative impact on their preparation and the chances of getting to compete.
The rest of the visa interviews on Thursday will be closely watched by the Indian wrestling fraternity. The WFI’s communication with the US Embassy indicates that the federation is seeking clarity and intervention over the refusals.
With the championships set to start on October 12, the wrestlers and officials have little time to resolve the issue. The outcome of the remaining visa interviews, as well as the US authorities' response to the WFI's concerns, will determine the final strength of India's contingent in Las Vegas.
The episode has also exposed the difficulty of young Indian athletes who leave India for international games abroad to compete. Many of these young athletes have participated in international events and have done so for the nation, but they may not have job records or financial records of their own as a result of competitive sport because those athletes are still in the competition. The WFI’s concern that the visa system for the athletes should be smooth will be a problem for Indian sports organizations preparing for future international competitions.
