Sri Lankan track and field athletes who were eager to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics will be kicking their heels as they will not be able to travel to Kazakhstan for an international meet.
They only way they could qualify was by way of earning more ranking points at international meets.
Five athletes, 400m runners Kalinga Kumarage and Nadeesha Ramanayake, javelin thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe, 800m runner Nimali Liyanarachchi and high jumper Thiwanka Perera were preparing for the meet in Kazakhstan.
The Sunday Observer reported two weeks ago that the Sri Lankan athletes will face difficulty in obtaining visas to travel to Kazakhstan as that country does not have an embassy in Sri Lanka.
Above everything else, Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) delayed the process in conducting the National meet that would have selected the hopeful athletes who will have to obtain the necessary passage to Tokyo.
But visas for the World Athletic Bronze medal meet to be held in Kazakhstan had to be applied by online on e-visa format.
“We sent all the necessary documents to the controlling body for athletics in Kazakhstan but the government has refused to issue visas to the Sri Lankan contingent,” claimed the president of Sri Lanka Athletics retired Maj. Gen. Palitha Fernando.
High jumper Thiwanka Perera who lives and trains in the USA was the main hope to qualify. He had cleared 2.30m and needed to compete in more international meets to go higher and reach qualifying ranking.
Perera is ranked eleventh best in the world this year but his hopes have been doomed through lack of competition.
As a last resort the five athletes will now have to pin their hopes on the Interstate Athletic Championship to be held in India where 15 athletes are set to take part.