Indian javelin throw ace Neeraj Chopra has sought the intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs pertaining to the situation of fellow athlete Kishore Jena’s visa predicament ahead of the World Athletics Championships scheduled to take place in Budapest, Hungary between August 19-27.
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said that 27-year-old Jena’s one-month visa was cancelled by the Embassy of Hungary in Delhi, rendering his participation at the event in doubt.
Taking to his social media handle X, formerly known as Twitter, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist urged the Minister of External Affairs to look into the issue.
“Just heard of issues with Kishore Jena’s VISA, preventing him from entering Hungary for the World C’ships. I hope the authorities are able to find a solution, as this is one of the biggest moments of his career. Let’s do everything we can,” he posted tagging MEA and Jaishankar.
Just heard that there are issues with Kishore Jena’s VISA, preventing him from entering Hungary for the World C’ships. I hope the authorities are able to find a solution, as this is one of the biggest moments of his career. Let’s do everything we can. ????@MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) August 17, 2023
Jena, the Odisha athlete, who claimed the gold medal in the Sri Lankan National Championships in July with a personal best of 84.38m, made the cut through the world ranking quota.
Jena qualified for the event after placing 36th in the Road to Budapest list updated by World Athletics (WA) following the completion of the qualification period on July 30.
The 27-year-old is one of the four Indian javelin throwers to have qualified for the World Championships. DP Manu and Rohit Yadav had also made the cut but the latter pulled out after undergoing an elbow surgery on his throwing arm.
Jena, who had won silver in the National Inter-State in June, and Manu are the only Indian athletes yet to reach Budapest out of the 28-member squad.
(With Inputs Fro PTI)
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