Indian paddlers hit by visa delays ahead of London event, risk financial penalties and ranking loss | More sports News
NEW DELHI: Uncertainty has shrouded the participation of India’s leading table tennis players G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, and Diya Chitale in the WTT Star Contender tournament in London, a crucial ranking event ahead of next year’s World Table Tennis Championships. The trio are awaiting the processing of their UK visa applications, casting doubt on their involvement in the event scheduled from Oct 20 to 26. If they are unable to attend, Sathiyan, Harmeet, and Diya may face substantial financial penalties from the organisers and lose ranking points, potentially affecting their seedings in future competitions. Originally set to depart for London on Monday (Oct 20), the players have had to reschedule their flights due to delays in visa approvals. Manika Batra, a two-time Olympian, also encountered a similar visa issue for the event, prompting her to appeal on social media to Minister of External Affairs (MEA) S Jaishankar and the British High Commission. It’s been learnt that Manika, her coach Aman Balgu, and two other support staff members received their UK visas on Saturday morning and subsequently departed for London. Other members of the Indian contingent, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, and Yashaswini Ghorpade, have also obtained their visas. However, Sathiyan, Desai, and Chitale are awaiting updates on their applications, with their matches scheduled for Wednesday. Speaking to TOI, a concerned Sathiyan stated that he applied for a visa at the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai on Oct 1, immediately after returning from the China Smash tournament in Beijing. Similarly, Desai and Chitale applied for their visas on Sept 29 and Oct 3, respectively, at the High Commission’s Mumbai office. “It usually takes 7-10 working days for the clearance of visa applications. We have all been to the UK on multiple occasions for tournaments and faced no such issues. This time also, we applied for a six-month standard visa, believing it would come ahead of our scheduled departure for the championships. But it’s been three weeks, and we are still waiting for our visas to be processed. Due to the Diwali festivities, everything has gotten stuck. Monday is a holiday and, if we don’t get the visas by Tuesday first half, then we have to cancel our trip, and it would result in substantial penalties both in terms of money and ranking. I have my qualification round in men’s doubles with Harmeet scheduled for Wednesday morning. My singles match in the main draw starts the day after (Oct 23). It’s a tight situation for all of us,” Sathiyan said. Addressing the consequences of a no-show at the tournament, Sathiyan added: “The contingent has been booked into the official team hotel in London. Individually, I have paid close to Rs 2 lakh from my pocket for the booking. Plus, there are other costs involved as charged by the organisers. The draws will be out by Tuesday. A no-show would result in the entire amount being forfeited. I would lose my money. Then, in terms of rankings, I would earn zero points from this event by not competing, meaning I’ll miss the opportunity to gain or defend my ranking in future competitions.”
