Muristek
Vinayak Padmadeo
New Delhi, June 2
As India gets ready to host the Asian Championships in cycling, the friction with Pakistan has once again come out in the open.
The Asian Track Cycling Championships, along with the junior and para events, will be held in New Delhi from June 18.
All member nations, including Pakistan, have been invited for the event, which will be held under the aegis of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACF).
Pakistan Cycling Federation president Syed Azhar Ali Shah confirmed that a seven-member delegation is scheduled to attend the meet. He, however, said that though the team has sent all "required documents" to the Indian embassy, it is yet to be issued visas to travel to India.
"We already sent all the documents required over two weeks back. We are scheduled to travel through the Attari border on June 15," Shah told The Tribune.
"In our experience, we feel that we will get the visas two or three days before our scheduled travel. The seven-member team is very keen to participate in the Asian meet. Let's hope we are there when the event starts," Shah added.
Onkar Singh, secretary general of ACF and co-chairman of the organising committee, said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is in touch with them on the issue.
"All Asian teams are invited for the meet. We cannot discriminate. The MHA is already in touch with us and I am hopeful that all teams, including Pakistan, will get to compete at the Asian Championships," Singh said.
The Asian meet has become very important for the continent as it is the first major cycling event after the pandemic. The ranking points earned at the event will help teams qualify for the World Cup as well as the World Championships. All major cycling nations, including Olympics silver medallists China, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, will send full-strength teams to the event.