Bhubaneswar: In the aftermath of the Pulwama terrorist attack that killed more than 40 CRPF jawans and the Indian government’s non-issuance of visas of two Pakistani shooters for the ongoing World Cup have put the country in a precarious situation.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended all talks regarding hosting of international events in the country in the future till the government clarified its stand on the Olympic charter.
Pakistani shooters Muhammad Khalil Akhtar and Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, along with an official, were scheduled to participate in the February 20-28 event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.
“Since becoming aware of the issue, and in spite of intense last-minute efforts and discussions with the Indian government authorities, no solution has been found to allow the Pakistani delegation to enter India on time to compete in the event,” an IOC statement read.
“As a result, the IOC executive board also decided to suspend all discussions with the Indian NOC and government regarding the potential applications for hosting future sports and Olympic-related events in India,” it said, adding that the refusal of visas to the competitors went against the principles of the Olympic charter relating to discrimination and political interference by the host country.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had last year presented an ambitious roadmap to host the Youth Olympics (2026), the Asian Games (2030) and the Summer Olympics (2032). Moreover, Bhubaneswar, which successfully hosted the 14th edition of the men’s hockey World Cup, is due to host the FIH men’s hockey series in June.
There is little doubt that the government’s decision will have an impact on the hosting rights of the above events, in addition to the country’s sporting ties globally.
Meanwhile, the decision didn’t go well with some of the renowned names in the country’s sports community. “Sports should not be mixed up with politics. This is a politically sensitive issue and I don’t think that the decision of the Indian government was right,” said 1975 hockey World Cup winning Indian player Ashok Kumar.
“But having said that, IOC also has certain rules and regulations and the whole world has to abide by them. Sport is the birthright of every citizen and that should not be hampered just because of any political reason,” he added.
Former footballer Prafulla Mishra, who has represented Odisha in the Santosh Trophy, also echoed Kumar’s views. “The decision of the Indian government wasn’t correct. Why will the sportspersons suffer when they have done nothing wrong?” the 62-year-old opined.
2018 Asian Games double silver medallist sprinter Dutee Chand felt that the Pakistani players should have been issued visas. She said that it will surely have a negative impact on India’s sporting culture.
“Definitely they should have been granted visas. They don’t have any relation with the attacks and this will worsen our sporting ties with other countries,” the 22-year-old said.
POA hail IOC’s call
Karachi: The National Olympic Association of Pakistan (POA) Friday supported the world body (IOC) for removing Olympic quotas in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event of the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Delhi, where its country’s shooters could not compete due to visa issues. “We were very disappointed once our athletes were not allowed to participate for an event for which they had been preparing for a very long time. We have always been of the view that sports must be used as a mean to build bridges between communities and countries,” POA president Arif Hasan said in a statement.
