Guwahati, June 19: Ace archer Jayanta Talukdar?s dream run on the international arena suffered a major blow after the All India Archery Federation (AIAF) failed to manage visas for the nine-member Indian contingent for the FITA World Cup meet in El Salvador.
The meet gets under way on Wednesday.
Jayanta?s absence in the El Salvador meet will make it difficult for Assam?s golden boy to be in contention for the US $ 20,000 prizemoney for remaining atop the rankings in the four-meet FITA World Cup series.
Jayanta, who finished fifth in the men?s recurve at Antalya recently, still holds the top position with 38 points under his belt, but his rivals are likely to overtake him in the points tally at El Salvador.
The archer returned to Jamshedpur yesterday. He and his teammates were in New Delhi till the other day trying to procure visas for the trip.
The AIAF could not manage visas for the players as El Salvador does not have an embassy in India and procuring visas from Qatar, the nearest Asian country having an El Salvador embassy, will cost an additional Rs 2.5 lakh.
Jayanta?s father Ranjan Talukdar said the AIAF had offered to send Jayanta alone as the US embassy in New Delhi could have arranged for the visa of only a single team member.
However, the 20-year-old Jamshedpur-based Tata Archery Academy archer felt it would be inconvenient to participate in the meet without a coach and his other teammates. The Indian contingent comprises four men, as many women and a coach.
Jayanta topped the World Cup rankings in the men?s recurve, bagging 25 points in the first meet held at Porec in Croatia in May.
He maintained his top position by putting in an impressive performance in Antalya early this month.
The last event of the World Cup series will be held in Shanghai a month later.
AIAF vice president Robin Bordoloi, however, said he was apprised by the federation that Jayanta would not lose points and would still remain in contention for the championship top rank if he could pull off an outstanding performance in Shanghai.
?I have talked to the senior people in the AIAF who have assured me that Jayanta would not lose much by not participating in El Salvador,? Bordoloi told The Telegraph.
Jayanta could not be contacted for comment.
