Pakistan has decided not to send its team to the Asian Senior Fencing Championships, which will be held in New Delhi from June 19, despite receiving an invitation from the local organizers, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
India is hosting the championships for the first time. Fencers from more than 30 countries across Asia and Oceania are expected to compete in the continental event.
Nearly 100 delegates and technical officials will oversee the championships.
Fencing Association of India Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said Pakistan and Afghanistan had both been invited to take part in the event, but neither country chose to send their fencers.
“We sent an invite to Pakistan, as well as Afghanistan, to participate in the championships but they chose not to send their fencers. The deadline for sending entries is long over and we are now in the process of procuring visas for the athletes and officials,” Mehta told PTI.
Last month, India’s Sports Ministry reiterated that the blanket ban on bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan, imposed last year, would remain in place. However, it also said athletes from Pakistan would not be stopped from entering India for multilateral events.
Despite that position, Pakistan has chosen not to submit entries for its fencers.