The Pakistan team has not been given clearance yet and is unlikely to participate in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships beginning here tomorrow.
The tournament organisers, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), had received entries from Pakistan in both men’s and women’s events but their participation was always under doubt owing to visa issues.
“The government of India has not granted visa to the Pakistani team yet and I don’t think they will do that under the circumstances,” TTFI secretary general Dhanraj Choudhary told IANS. He was referring to the tense relations between the two countries, that have deteriorated with the death of India’s Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan.
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TTFI confirmed that players from 14 countries will take part in the men’s category while 13 nations will fight it out in the women’s section.