The IBSF World Junior Snooker Championship was forced to withdraw three Pakistani golfers who were Ahsan Ramzan, Mohamad Hasnan and Mohammad Hamza Ilyas. This year the National Olympic Committee from the Ministry of External Affairs arrived 48 hours prior to the beginning of the competition, aulting in a two-day delay which resulted in withdrawal of three players and four officials.
Golf is just another victim of India Pakistan troubled relationship that affects sports. Was on tenterhooks till last moment cricket team.
July 20th was the deadline for registration; however, it was extended by one week and Pakistani golfers also managed to log in at exactly this time. Meanwhile, back home, Pakistani players trained hard and waited for their visas, but they got disappointed when they realized it would be quite difficult if not impossible to reach Bengaluru by Saturday’s opening day match.
When asked about withdrawals, BSFI Chairman S Balasubramanium told TOI: “On Thursday our Minsitry of External Affairs sent them a permission letter that reached them (Pakistan) in the evening – approval from MEA,” he explained.
Pakistani players faced visa issues not only in India but also worldwide according to IBSF vice-president Jim Lacey. “Pakistan’s players are having problems and it is not only an Indian problem as such we can see what happened to them recently when they didn’t get visas to play in Poland,” he said with sympahty. Very good players unfortunately fell into a situation beyond their control that could have been avoided entirely but their country does not have political leadership which could encourage stability unlike ours.
Both China and England apart
Meanwhile both England and China will stay away from participating in these two tournaments taking place here at Bengaluru for other reasons.
Lacey commented on this issue saying: “England and China want their players become professionals. They have no Pro Tour tickets for this competition and, therefore, they do not want to participate. Instead of IBSF events, they require their players to take part in the qualifying Pro Tour and even fund these competitions.”
