Five squash players denied England visa

KARACHI: Five Pakistan players who were supposed to participate in the British Junior Open 2017 had to miss the event after not being able to get the visas, ‘The News’ learnt on Tuesday.

These players entered their names in the BJO 2017, being held in Sheffield from January 2-6.

It is the second time that England has refused visas to Pakistan’s junior squash players. Last year, five players from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa applied to participate in British Open 2016 but were refused visas.

“We could not get the visas. They promised to issue the visas but delayed it till the end. I don’t know what happened then,” said Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) secretary Amir Nawaz.

He said that the players prefer playing in the US Junior Open — as around 12 players are competing there — and that low participation in the British Junior Open was expected.

However, Amir added that six junior players were successful in getting visas for the British Junior Open.

“Six players have got their visas for participation in the championship,” he said.

The players who entered their names and did not get visas are Abbas Zaib (under-15); Huzaifa Shahid and Farhan Hashmi (under-13); and Kashif Asif and Abbas Shoukat (under-19).

The PSF secretary said that due to security issues, it has now become difficult for Pakistani players to get visas for events held in Europe.