Indian shuttlers’ participation in Sudirman Cup in doubt | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India’s leading badminton players, including two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and world No. 9 HS Prannoy, are fretting over their visa application for the Sudirman Cup to be held in Suzhou, which are yet to be cleared by the Chinese embassy here, TOI has learnt.
The 23 members of the contingent, including 15 players, are waiting for their visas for the tournament, scheduled from May 14-21. The development has come at a time when Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang, is in India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Goa.
The team has been booked on a flight to Shanghai from Bengaluru on May 10. The players are presently staying in Hyderabad.
As per the Chinese visa rules, the team has to assemble in Delhi for its mandatory physical biometric, a process which usually takes 24 hours. With the next two days
being a weekend, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) will effectively be left with just one day (Monday) to get the players’ visas processed.
“The tickets have been booked. All other formalities to send the team to the tournament have been completed. The team is scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Shanghai but it all looks very difficult unless the Chinese embassy grants us the visa,” a source told TOI.
Another source claimed that the Chinese embassy didn’t respond to BAI’s request for the early processing of visas despite repeated follow-ups. It’s been learnt that the matter has been taken up with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) – the global governing body.
Interestingly, the Chinese contingent had faced a similar situation during the India Open here earlier this year. The visiting team’s smooth entry into India was made possible by BAI, which had reached out to the Indian embassy in Malaysia to ensure that the Chinese team got its visas on time. This despite China being under lockdown and their visa offices shut.
India had qualified for the Sudirman Cup after winning bronze at the Badminton Asia mixed team championships in February. The visitors were considered favourites to lift the title trophy, banking on their recent performances in team events.
Not only did India become champions at the Thomas Cup last year, a first for the country, the country’s badminton players again created history by finishing on the podium at the Asian mixed team event.