AIBA Boxing C'ship: OCA writes to IOA regarding visa denial to Kosovo boxer

New Delhi [India], Nov 15 (ANI): Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) regarding visa denial to a Kosovo boxer who was looking to participate in the ongoing International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women's World Boxing Championship being held in Delhi.
Reminding the IOA about the duties of an organizing committee of such major tournaments, OCA president Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, in a letter, stated that the incident has cast a doubt on India's eligibility in hosting major international sporting events.
"It has come to our attention that the Kosovo athlete has denied visa to enter India to participate in the championships. As you are aware, as per the Olympic charter and OCA constitution, it is the duty of the organizing committee to provide entry to every eligible athlete participating in a major championship without any discrimination," Al-Sabah wrote in the letter.
"The incident has seriously cast a doubt on the eligibility of India in hosting major international sporting events and other major games like the Olympics, Asian Games etc., in India," he added.
The president, in a letter, also mentioned a similar incident where Spain had declined to recognize Kosovo as a sovereign country. But the Spanish government had gone out of his way to ensure the participation of Kosovo athletes in the championship.
"A similar incident had occurred in Spain, in November 2018, which also does not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign country, but the government went out of its way to ensure that the athletes from Kosovo got entry into Spain and participated in the championships," he said.
The AIBA World Women's Boxing Championship, which started today, will go on till November 24. (ANI)