Badminton News: Twenty-four members of the Indian badminton contingent, led by two-time All India Under-19 champion Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda, the youngest badminton player from the country to win a BWF World Tour title, spent sleepless nights after the US Embassy union in New Delhi refused to issue visas for the BWF World Junior Championship competition, which is scheduled to be held in Spokane from September 25 to October 8.

Embassy officials are learned to have told the Badminton Association of India (BAI) that there are no slots available for the Indian team to appear for visa and biometric interviews before February 2024 .Visa fees were deposited by BAI and the team. is scheduled to fly to Spokane on September 20.

This development comes at a time when US President Joe Biden will be here to attend the G20 summit. According to sources, Minister of External Affairs (MEA) S Jaishankar is likely to raise the issue of visa denial during the visit of the US Foreign Office delegation accompanying Biden.

All efforts made by the federation have failed so far because so far the players have not received any news from the consulate. BAI has written to the BWF and USA Badminton to intervene and facilitate the visa process, but the impasse persists.

As per US visa rules, the team had to assemble in Delhi for the mandatory physical biometrics.

A player who did not wish to be named told TOI: “We don’t know if we can fly to the US. The situation is very frustrating. If a country like the United States is to host the tournament, then I think the world badminton body should take the lead and guarantee the entry of every participating country.

In May this year, the Indian senior badminton team, which includes players like PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth, faced similar visa issues when the Chinese embassy refused to approve applications visa for the Sudirman Cup in Suzhou before the issue was resolved by the MEA. with Overseas Chinese Minister Qin Gang.

Article Tag: Badminton India, USA, World Junior Championships 2023