The Indian embassy in Islamabad has issued visas for seven members of the Pakistan Cycling team to participate in the Asian Elite and Junior Cycling Championships. The championships started in New Delhi on Saturday. The Pak team is set to participate in events from tomorrow.
Secretary-General of the Pakistan Cycling Federation Moazzam Khan Khair said Pakistan's cycling squad has five cyclists and officials. They left via the Wagah border on Friday.
He told PTI that one of the officials who was supposed to accompany the team was not granted a visa. "The good thing is the rest of our applications were all accepted and processed". He added that a mechanism should be set up to fast-track the processing of visa applications from Pakistani athletes and officials invited for regional or International sporting events to India.
The Asian meet is the first major cycling event after the pandemic. Being an Olympic qualifier, many ranking points will be up for grabs during the event.
In the past, Pak athletes have been denied visas due to tense political and diplomatic ties between the two nations.