Chess
Indian chess players' participation at FIDE World Junior Championships in limbo
Indian players are scheduled to leave for Mexico on Monday. The delay now has made the participation of five players at the prestigious tournament uncertain.
Representative Photo: Tejas Tiwari is the youngest FIDE-rated Chess player.
India's chess players are yet to get their visas from the Mexican embassy for the FIDE World Junior Chess Championships, scheduled on September 20 and October 2 in Mexico City.
According to PTI, Indian players are scheduled to leave for Mexico on Monday. The delay now has made the participation of five players at the prestigious tournament uncertain.
Vrashank Chouhan, Arun Kataria, Bhagyashree Patil, Prraneeth Vuppala and Femil Chelladurai, along with coaches M Pravind Thipsay and Kiran Agrawal have not received their visas yet.
“Despite all the best effort and clearance from the Indian government, we are yet to receive the clearance from the Mexican embassy, which has resulted in the delay of visas being issued, " Bharat Singh Chauhan, the FIDE Advisory Board Chairman, said.
"The players are scheduled to leave on Monday, and the matter has been kept hanging till the last day, with no clarity if the visas would indeed be issued on time," he added.
“It is extremely frustrating since all the Indian players are looking forward to participating in the tournament, while the contingent is also one of the strong favourites to come out on top,” Chauhan said.
The tournament is being organised by Mexico’s chess federation with the consent of the Mexican government.
Bharat Singh said, “The Indian authorities have done their part, and it is all up to them (Mexican authorities) now. All we can do is remain hopeful for the visa to arrive by today or tomorrow.”
Along with the Indian contingent, Nepalese chess players are also facing similar trouble. The Nepalese players are in India and waiting for their visas from the Mexican embassy in New Delhi ahead of their departure on Monday.
