Sri Lankan karate athletes who were scheduled to depart the island yesterday (02) to participate in the 23rd Asian Karate Championship in China were unable to travel due to not receiving their visas.
By the time of the flight’s departure, visas had still not been issued, causing significant distress for the group at Katunayake International Airport.
The championship is to be held in China from September 5th to 7th, and 29 Sri Lankan athletes had qualified to take part.
It has been reported that each participant was charged Rs. 580,000 by the Sri Lanka Karate-Do Federation to cover expenses such as air tickets, visas, and other logistics.
Despite assurances from federation officials that visas would be granted by this morning, athletes were still advised to report to the airport.
However, the flight to China departed at 2:00 p.m. yesterday without them, as the federation failed to secure the necessary visas in time — shattering the athletes’ hopes.
