Report: India's participation in Sudirman Cup 2023 doubtful due to visa issues

The prestigious tournament will begin from May 14.

India's participation in the prestigious Sudirman Cup 2023 reportedly hangs in limbo with the visa applications of the entire 23-member contingent, including 15 players, yet to be cleared by the Chinese Embassy in Delhi. The Sudirman Cup 2023 is slated to be held in Suzhou, China from May 14 to 21.

According to a report in the Times of India, the Indian contingent, including top players like PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, are still waiting to receive their visas to travel for the tournament, which begins next Sunday. Players are currently training in Hyderabad as they wait for their visas.

The team has already been booked on a flight to Shanghai from Bengaluru on May 10. However, that looks difficult now. The report also added that there has been no response from the Chinese embassy despite repeated follow-ups from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to speed up the process. It has left the BAI with no option but to seek help from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) under whose aegis the Sudirman Cup is held.

According to the report, the Chinese contingent also found itself in a similar situation earlier this year before the start of the India Open But the BAI had intervened to ensure that the players received their visas on time.

This is not the first time that Indian athletes have been made to wait for their visas. Last year, the Indian Taekwondo players faced a similar issue and couldn't travel to Colombia for the World Taekwondo Championships 2022. Similarly, the U-23 wrestlers too face visa issues and few couldn't participate in the U-23 World Wrestling Championships held in Spain.

India qualified for the Sudirman Cup 2023 earlier this year after clinching the bronze medal at the Asia mixed team championships 2023 held in Dubai. This was also the first time India qualified to the semifinals stage at the mixed continental championships but unfortunately lost to China in the semifinals and settled for bronze.

The Indian team overall has been performing well in the team events in the past year (men's team winning the historic Thomas Cup in 2022 and the bronze medal in Asian mixed team championships in 2023).

Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Australia are placed alongside India in Group C of the Sudirman Cup 2023. A total of 16 teams are set to participate and two teams from each group (four groups overall) progress to the quarter-finals.