After being denied entry by the New Delhi airport immigration on Monday, Zesh Rehman of Hong Kong club Kitchee SC was finally permitted to enter India on Tuesday as he took a flight from New Delhi to Pune and joined the rest of the Kitchee contingent there.
After several interventions from the Indian consulate in Hong Kong, Zesh, who was born in England but is a Pakistan international, was finally granted permission to travel from New Delhi to Pune, where Kitchee will face Churchill Brothers in an AFC Cup Group E match on Wednesday.
Zesh was initially only given permission to travel to India via Mumbai and thus was denied entry by the immigration authorities at the New Delhi airport on Monday.
The former Fulham defender was unable to take part in Kitchee’s only training session on Tuesday afternoon as he had to take rest but the 29-year-old is now available for Wednesday’s clash.
The mere presence of Zesh will be significant even if he doesn’t get any gametime because in the recent past, Indo-Pak tensions have affected many sporting events and sportspersons.
In an interview to Sportskeeda back in February, Zesh had stated that he was looking forward to be in India and finally his wish came true despite some controversy.