Indian Javelin Thrower Kishore Jena Receives Visa for World Athletics Championships

New Delhi: Indian javelin thrower Kishore Jena has secured his visa for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, scheduled from August 19-27. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) confirmed that Jena’s visa was approved after an interview on Friday.

Earlier, the Hungarian embassy had initially cancelled his visa application. Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra supported Jena and appealed to Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar for a resolution.

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

— Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) August 17, 2023

Jena, who achieved a personal best of 84.38m while winning gold in the Sri Lankan National Championships, earned his spot through the world ranking quota. He stood 36th on the Road to Budapest list by World Athletics. Notably, Jena is among the four Indian javelin throwers who qualified for the Championships.

However, fellow qualifier Rohit Yadav withdrew due to elbow surgery. Jena and DP Manu are the remaining Indian athletes set to compete in Budapest from the 28-member squad.