India pull out of baseball event
Visa issues cited as reason for not taking part in event in Lahore.
KARACHI:
India have pulled out of the South West Asia Baseball Cup, scheduled to start in Lahore from March 23, due to visa issues. The tournament will now feature Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan besides the hosts.
Pakistan Baseball Federation (PBF) Secretary Pervaiz Shah Khawar said that the India officials failed to send in the required documents ahead of the tournament, a qualifier for the Asian Championship in October, after citing visa issues as the reason.
However, Khawar did not buy the excuse, saying that the PBF had taken care of all the arrangements including getting the approval from the country’s interior ministry.
“It’s their loss,” Khawar told The Express Tribune. “India haven’t been serious about their participation and now they’ve stated visa issues. It’s their internal matter and we can’t do anything.
“If they don’t’ participate their ranking will go down. But it means we’ll have less competition and we can make the cut for the Asian Championship.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2012.
India have pulled out of the South West Asia Baseball Cup, scheduled to start in Lahore from March 23, due to visa issues. The tournament will now feature Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan besides the hosts.
Pakistan Baseball Federation (PBF) Secretary Pervaiz Shah Khawar said that the India officials failed to send in the required documents ahead of the tournament, a qualifier for the Asian Championship in October, after citing visa issues as the reason.
However, Khawar did not buy the excuse, saying that the PBF had taken care of all the arrangements including getting the approval from the country’s interior ministry.
“It’s their loss,” Khawar told The Express Tribune. “India haven’t been serious about their participation and now they’ve stated visa issues. It’s their internal matter and we can’t do anything.
“If they don’t’ participate their ranking will go down. But it means we’ll have less competition and we can make the cut for the Asian Championship.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2012.