Archery Association of India (AAI) general secretary Anil Kamineni on Saturday said that a decision was taken to withdraw the cadet and junior teams from the World Youth Archery championship which begins at Yankton, in the U.S., on Monday following rejection of visas to archers, coaches and support staff.
Speaking to The Hindu , he said the embassy officials took the decision based on section 214 (B) of the U.S. Immigration Act. “It is not the language barrier. In fact, our teams met all the necessary pre-requisites to get a visa.
“Much to the surprise of the sporting fraternity, a majority of them were denied visas.”
He said it was the first time in the history of Indian archery that teams were prevented from taking part in a major international event.
“All the hard work of the archers has gone in vain. The youngsters are very disappointed,” he said. Anil said the AAI had conveyed its decision to the World Archery Federation (FITA), the U.S. Archery Association and the organising committee of the event.
“Our withdrawal took the sheen out of the tournament as we were expected to perform well. Visas are issued as per the norms followed by the U.S. Government and the embassy officials. The embassy says it went by the rules.
“Though FITA promised to help us, it is impossible for the archers to reach the venue on time. Hence, we had no option but to withdraw our teams,” he added.
