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Visa failure forces SL Karate team’s return from BIA empty-handed
Colombo, Sept. 4 (Daily Mirror) - Thirty-one competitors representing the Sri Lanka Karate Federation were forced to return home empty-handed on September 2 after failing to obtain visas to attend the 23rd Asian Cadet, Junior and Under-21 Championships in Shaoguan, China, scheduled from September 5–7.
The team, comprising mostly school students from across the country, had trained for over six weeks and spent around Rs. 580,000 each on airfare, accommodation, and transport.
They arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) three hours before their scheduled SriLankan Airlines flight, but were left stranded, as no federation officials were present to facilitate visa arrangements.
Parents of several athletes expressed frustration, saying they had mortgaged property to cover costs.
The players waited outside the departure terminal until around 3:00 p.m. before returning to their hometowns.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided to conduct a full investigation into the failure to provide visas and air tickets on time to the athletes.
The Ministry said that the relevant association bears full responsibility for sending athletes to sports competitions and it is the responsibility of the relevant authorities of the federation to obtain visas and air tickets within the stipulated time.
The Ministry says it expects to take disciplinary action against the relevant parties for acting in a way that causes inconvenience to the players in this careless manner.
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