NEW DELHI: Indian javelin thrower Kishore Jena on Friday received his visa to travel to Hungary, paving the way for him to compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest from August 19 to 27.
"All of you might be aware that I faced an issue with my (Hungarian) visa for the World Athletics Championships. However, the problem has been resolved now," Jena said in a video posted by Sports Authority of India.
"Therefore, I would like to thank the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sports Authority of India, Ministry of External Affairs and the Athletics Federation of India for getting my visa done. Thank you so much. I will give my best performance during the World Championships," he added ahead of his Sunday departure to the Hungarian capital.
Early on Friday, an AFI source said that Jena's visa has been cleared after his interview/appointment in the morning, and he will get his travel documents later in the day.
Jena's visa application was cancelled by the Hungarian embassy in India on Wednesday for unknown reasons, leading to Olympic gold-medallist Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra coming out in his support.
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"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," he posted on X (formerly Twitter), tagging MEA and Jaishankar.
Jena, who won gold in the Sri Lankan National Championships on July 30 with a personal best of 84.38m, had made the cut through the world ranking quota.
Jena qualified for the event after being placed 36th in the Road to Budapest list updated by World Athletics (WA) following the completion of the qualification period on July 30.
The 27-year-old is one of the four Indian javelin throwers to have qualified for the World Championships.
DP Manu and Rohit Yadav had also made the cut, but the latter pulled out after undergoing elbow surgery on his throwing arm.
Jena, who had won silver in the National Inter-State in June, and Manu are the only Indian athletes yet to reach Budapest out of the 28-member squad.
