Affan Salman won the 19th World Youth Scrabble Championship in Sri Lanka in September 2024 (Photo: PSA)
The defending champion team of Pakistan could not leave for the ongoing Asia Youth Scrabble Championship 2024 in India, as India has refused visas to most of the players.
The championship started on Sunday at the Vishwa Youth Kundra in New Delhi. Only eight players from the Pakistan team were allowed to participate in the event, while 12 players were not given visas, due to which the Pakistani team could not participate in the event.
Director of Pakistan Scrabble Association, Tariq Pervez, expressed deep sorrow over this situation and said that the deliberate visa delay tactic by the Indian High Commission has left Pakistan’s Scrabble team out of the championship. Despite submitting all the documents two months ago, the visas were blocked at the last minute, and some players were issued visas so late that they were unable to participate in the event.’
Tariq Pervez added that Pakistan’s absence as the reigning World Youth Champions and defending Asian Youth Champions is a major setback in the event.
Tariq Pervez added that Pakistan has expressed surprise and disappointment that India has refused visas to most of our youth Scrabble players, which has made it difficult for them to participate in the Asia Youth Scrabble Championship and the Delhi Cup. .’
The organizers of the event had obtained all the necessary clearances, but the Pakistan team’s travel preparations were deemed futile. The players, who were hoping to get their visas approved after reaching Lahore, are now returning to Karachi with great disappointment.
Pakistan’s 16-year-old Affan Salman achieved another great feat by winning the 19th World Youth Scrabble Championship to be held in Sri Lanka in September 2024. In addition, the Pakistani team also won the trophy, as they were the number one ranked team, with four players in the top ten.
Earlier, in 2022, Affan’s brother Ali Salman also won the same title, and thus the honor of both brothers winning the World Youth Championship became a unique example in the history of the world.
This is not the first time that India has denied visas to Pakistani players. Recently, India did not grant visas to the Pakistani team for the Asian Netball Championship. Apart from this, three Pakistani cueists Ahsan Ramzan, Muhammad Hasnain and Muhammad Hamza Ilyas have been disqualified from participating in the IBSF World Junior Snooker Championship.
Earlier, India had granted visas to the Pakistan cricket team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, the delay in the visas affecting Pakistan’s preparations.
