Ahead of the 2025 Archery World Cup, slated to take place from April 8 to 13, in Central Florida, USA, six Indian archers and three support staff are stranded due to visa issues.
The list includes World champion Aditi Gopichand Swami (compound women), Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara (recurve men), Uday Kamboj (compound men), Anshika Kumari (recurve women), Madhura Dhamangaonkar (compound women), Chikitha Taniparthi (compound women), Sonam Tshering Bhutia, Jiwanjot Singh Teja and Snober Rupal.
“We submitted our application 40 days back. Since then, we have been struggling to get a visa appointment. First, we were told we will get it. When the time came closer, they said there was a glitch in the system. It will be resolved in a day or two.” Archery Association of India’s (AAI) assistant secretary Gunjan Abrol told The Bridge on Wednesday.
“For the last 15-20 days the same glitch has been going on. We visited the US embassy several times, sent uncountable emails to the embassy, and also wrote to the Sports Authority of India and the Government of India, but the issue remains.” He added
“We had applied for 12 member, but three of them applied separately and got their visa. Nine are still awaiting their appointment,” he confirmed.
Incidentally, this is not the first time that the Indian archers are stranded due to visa issues.
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