World Athletics Championship: Neeraj Chopra seeks Ministry of External Affairs' intervention to resolve Kishore Kumar Jena's visa issues

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra asked India's Ministry of External Affairs department to intervene after teammate Kishore Kumar Jena's visa was cancelled by the Embassy of Hungary.

On Wednesday, August 16, the Athletics Federation of India stated that Jena's one-month visa was cancelled by Embassy of Hungary in Delhi for unknown reasons.

The unforeseen circumstances have jeopardised the 27-year-old's participation in the forthcoming World Athletics Championship scheduled between August 19 and 27 in Budapest, Hungary.

Neeraj Chopra, who is set to lead the 28-member Indian contingent in the biennial event, expressed concerns over the Odisha-based javelin thrower's big opportunity in peril.

"Just heard that there are issues with Kishore Jena’s VISA, preventing him from entering Hungary for the World C’ships. I hope the authorities are able to find a solution, as this is one of the biggest moments of his career. Let’s do everything we can. @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar," tweeted the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist on Thursday.

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How has Kishore Kumar Jena fared in recent times?

Kishore Kumar Jena recently won gold at the Sri Lanka Athletics National Championship 2023 in Colombo. He accomplished the feat on the first day of the three-day event in Colombo with the best throw of 84.38m.

Jena's previous best record was 82.87m, achieved during the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships held in Bhubaneswar in June. With a throw of 78.96m, Jena clinched a gold medal at the Lebanon National Championship in Beirut just a week before recording his career-best throw.

Neeraj Chopra and DP Manu will be the only two athletes left in the men's javelin throw competition from India if Kishore happens to miss out. Annu Rani is the lone participant from the country in the women's javelin throw.

While Chopra missed out on the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok last month due to overseas training preference, Manu bagged a silver at the continental tournament with a throw of 81.01m. Meanwhile, Rani finished seventh at the Hylo Javelin Meeting Offenburg 2023 meet in Germany.