India has yet to issue visas to Pakistan women’s netball team for the upcoming 13th Asian Netball Championship on October 18 in Bangalore.
In response, the Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) has taken to chastising both the Asian and World Netball bodies over the national team being excluded from the championship. Despite being fully prepared, Pakistan was left out of the tournament in India, and the championship draw was released without their inclusion.
PNF President Mudassar Arain revealed that visa applications for India were submitted three weeks ago, but there has been no response from Indian authorities, even after repeated follow-ups.
The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) had already issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the team. In addition, the PNF also roped in british coach Ellie Moore, with some players training under her guidance in London. The Asian Netball Championships being a key focus in the PNF opting for a foreign coach
The abrupt exclusion has caused the PNF significant financial losses, with the federation decrying the entire scenario by saying that the team’s preparations had been completely wasted