Kishore Jena Gets Appointment With Hungarian Embassy Amid Visa Complications Ahead of World Athletics Championships

A day after javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena’s one-month visa was cancelled by the Hungarian embassy, he has got a fresh appointment for Friday, renewing hopes that the 27-year-old can still compete in the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) in an update shared on X (formerly Twitter) said on Thursday, ”Thanks to all. Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena has an appointment at the Hungary embassy tomorrow at 9 am.”

The Odisha athlete’s visa was cancelled by the Hungarian embassy on Wednesday, rendering him a doubtful starter at the marquee athletics event slated to be held from August 19-27.

In the wake of the cancellation of Jena’s visa, fellow javelin thrower and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra on Thursday sought the Ministry of External Affairs’ intervention to resolve the issue so that the athlete could compete in the Worlds.

Taking to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Chopra urged Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to find a solution so as to ensure the participation of the athlete in the Budapest event.

”Just heard of 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 tagging MEA and Jaishankar.

The 27-year-old Jena, who 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.