Latest news with #SouthAsianSeniorAthleticsChampionships
News18
24-04-2025
- Sport
- News18
Delay In Granting Visas To Pakistani Athletes Leads To Postponement Of South Asian Senior Athletics Championships: Report
AFI has yet again postponed the meet, pushing it to be held in the second or third week of June, tentatively. The South Asian Senior Athletics Championships suffer yet another setback, being postponed for the second time, seemingly due to the delay in granting visas to Pakistani athletes, including Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem. The 4th South Asian Senior Athletics Championship, set to be held at the Birsa Munda Athletics Stadium in Ranchi, will see countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives participating. The event is also supposed to serve as a qualifier for regional and international competitions. The fourth edition of the tournament held by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), which was originally slated to take place from October 4-6, 2024, in Ranchi, was initially postponed to May 3-5, 2025. But now, due to unforeseen circumstances, the AFI has yet again postponed the meet, pushing it to be held in the second or third week of June, tentatively. 'Reference to the Circular dated 4 April 2025 regarding South Asian (SAAF) Senior Athletics Championships scheduled to be held from 3rd to 5th May 2025 at Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. In this regard, it is informed that the South Asian (SAAF) Senior Athletics Championships 2025 have been postponed, and the new dates will be announced soon," a letter signed by AFI secretary Sandeep Mehta read. While no reason for postponement has been officially given, reports from The Indian Express have stated that much of the delay concerns visas not being granted for athletes from Pakistan. The Indian Express. 'There is no clarity on the new dates of the tournament, but the event will likely be pushed to the second or third week of June, depending on the clarity on the visas of Pakistani athletes," the source added. A list of 43 athletes, including reigning Olympic Javelin Champion Arshad Nadeem, was sent by Pakistan. The report also stated that another reason behind the postponement was interference with the schedule of the Asian Athletics Championships (set to begin on May 27 in Gumi, South Korea). Multiple decorated athletes such as Nadeem, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Yupun Abeykoon of Sri Lanka, and 2022 Asian Games 400m bronze medallist Aruna Darshana of Sri Lanka, have confirmed their participation for the event in Korea this May. No official word on the rescheduled dates for the South Asian Senior Athletics Championships has arrived yet.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
South Asian Athletics C'ships in Ranchi postponed
Kolkata: The South Asian Senior Athletics Championships that was scheduled to be held in Ranchi from May 3-5 has been postponed. The event that was supposed to see athletes from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives compete against each other in the three-day event will likely now to be held in the second week of June after the completion of Asian Athletics Championships. The fourth edition of the tournament was already postponed by Athletics Federation of India (AFI) once last year when it was scheduled for October 4-6, 2024, in Ranchi. The new dates are likely to be announced after further discussions in a meeting later this week. While no reason for postponement has been officially given, sources believe it is because the athletes from Pakistan were yet to get their visa. Early this month Pakistan had sent a list of 43 athletes, including that of Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem , for the event. Meanwhile, the news of postponement was made official in a letter dated April 22 by AFI secretary Sandeep Mehta. He wrote to the member federations of South Asian Athletics Federation stating, "Reference to the Circular dated 4 April, 2025, regarding South Asian (SAAF) Senior Athletics Championships scheduled to be held from 3rd to 5th May 2025 at Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. In this regard, it is informed that the South Asian (SAAF) Senior Athletics Championships 2025 have been postponed and the new dates will be announced soon." Although the tournament, which was last held in 2008, has been postponed for a second time, one hopes that the tournament will be held this year itself as planned and the people of Ranchi will get to see some of the best athletes of South Asia compete in front of their eyes. Besides Nadeem, according to Sri Lankan media, Birmingham Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and South Asia's fastest sprinter Yupun Abeykoon was also supposed to take part in the tournament. On a positive note, the postponement will help the organising committee make better arrangements for the 'D' category meet that carries crucial points for the 2025 World Rankings . The Birsa Munda Stadium hosted the Indian Open Athletics meet on April 10 and many of the athletes weren't too happy with the arrangement. Moreover, after a storm hit the city in the evening, the lights of the stadium kept going off multiple times and as a result the men's and women's javelin finals that saw the likes of upcoming star Sachin Yadav take part, was a start and stop affair.
