39 minutes agoIndia risks no longer hosting major sports events, cause of Kosovo
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)India risks losing the opportunity to organise major international sports events in the future, if single Kosovo boxer Donjet Sadiku is not allowed to box at the World Women's Championship, fears the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The championship will begin this Thursday, November 15th, but uncertainty continues to be [...]
The championship will begin this Thursday, November 15th, but uncertainty continues to be great for Sadik's participation in the AIBA event, since the Indian government has not yet given a visa to the boxer and its two trainers, writesnews18.
India has not yet recognised Kosovo, but since Sadiku also has Albania's passport, the India Box Federation (BFI) hoped to find a solution to the issue. India has diplomatic ties with Albania.
“The IOC (The International Olympic Committee) in the past has sent letters to the International Federation for Spain not to hold major events, as it has not allowed karateers from Kosovo to participate with their flag in the World Championship of Karate. And you never know. India can do the same. PTI an IOA official who didn't want his name revealed.
“For the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sports and politics are the two sides of the medal. The IOC did not mix the sport with politics and expects member states to follow the same instructions”, he added.
The IOA has officially said that Kosovo has also participated in the 2016 Olympics in Rio despite the fact that Brazil also does not recognise this state.
Ayay Singh, the president of the BFI, has said they are discussing this sensitive issue with the Indian government.
“We are still negotiating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It's a sensitive issue, I don't want to comment more. We're dealing with this case”, Singh said. “It's a bigger ministry issue and it's not just India's issue. It is a global issue and needs a dialogue on all sides to find a solution to this problem. It's not just boxing, it's a bigger issue. We're talking to the government and we'll see what's going to happen”, Singh added, Time conveys.
Also, Singh says the IOC should mediate the issue as well.
This is an issue of many countries that do not recognise Kosovo. So we have to find a solution between the IOC and all these countries because this includes many countries from Western and Southeast Asian countries”, Singh has indicated.
From our perspective, we want to follow the IOC guidelines. But, after all, the decision on granting visas is really a sovereign matter”, Singh concluded.
