nnis Sports broke the news that Pooja, Shahnavaz Khan, along with 23 athletes, were sent back from the airport due to delays in the visa process for the Indian team travelling to Hong Kong, China, for the U20 Asian Athletics Championships 2026, scheduled from 28th to 31st May 2026.
India was set to send a 64-member contingent for the championships, out of which 41 members successfully received their Pre-Arrival Registration Slips, while the remaining 23 members had their applications marked “unsuccessful” and were sent back to the Bengaluru camp from the airport.
nnis Sports reached out to AFI spokesperson Adille Sumariwala for comments on the matter. Replying to a WhatsApp message around 16:50 IST, he said:
“All athletes are cleared, they are on the flight. For some reason, Hong Kong did not issue visas. We took up the matter with the LOC and, with their help, got visas for all.”
He further added:
“Your statement is absolutely incorrect as usual; no one went to the airport and went back to camp. Sorry to disappoint you.”
However, many athletes among the 23 members who were allegedly sent back to camp from Airport reached out to us, confirming they had indeed returned from the airport to the Bengaluru camp. One athlete, who did not wish to be named, said:
“Humlog ko bola gaya SAI centre jane ke liye. Humlog raat ko 3 baje se pahuche, wo bhi khud se cab book karke. Disrespect kiya gaya sab ka. Ek bus bhi arrange nahin ki un logon ne.”
Another athlete said:
“Bhaiya, hua toh hai, par event humara late hai, koi dikkat nahi hai. Mil jayega visa.”
When asked whether they were left alone during the process, the athlete clarified that a bus was eventually arranged for their return.
But the bigger question remains: why is India’s national federation always late in handling visa applications?
When we further confirmed whether the athletes had eventually received their visas today, we found that all athletes had indeed received them today eveing. However, only four out of the 23 athletes were scheduled to fly out tonight.
Those athletes are:
• Jashanpreet Singh (400m Hurdles)
• Piyush Raj (400m)
• Tahura Khatun (400m)
• Vikas (3000m Steeplechase)
They are expected to board a flight around 10 PM IST, with the journey taking a minimum of 5 hours and 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Tahura and Piyush are scheduled to compete in the women’s and men’s 400m heats at 7:45 AM IST and 8:10 AM IST respectively.
All 23 athletes have now received their visas, but several of them are still awaiting confirmation of their flight details.
This is not the first time Indian athletes have faced such issues. India’s race walking team, which was set to represent the country at the Race Walking Team Championships earlier this year, reportedly faced similar visa delays from the Brazilian embassy due to incomplete documentation submitted by the federation.
The major question remains: why are preparations for international tournaments not completed well in advance? Why can’t all visa formalities and documentation be completed at least a month before the event? Why is there always a last-minute scramble?
The team was officially selected by AFI on 13th May. If that was the case, then why was the visa process delayed?
Management, visa offices, and federations may eventually correct their mistakes. But what about an athlete who reaches barely an hour before the first international competition of their life, an event they trained years for, simply because someone failed to attach the right documents?