New Delhi: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh has hit out at the US Embassy after nine U23 wrestlers (across greco-roman and women’s wrestling categories) were denied visas for the U23 World Wrestling Championships 2026 in Las Vegas for being under-20 and having no full-time jobs.
Speaking to IANS, Singh said this has happened for the first time in the tournament’s history, and it is entirely the US Embassy’s fault, due to which India have lost out on gold medals, noting at least two of the nine wrestlers were strong gold medal prospects.
“The US Embassy rejected the visas of nine Indian wrestlers on the grounds that they are unemployed. For the first time in history this has happened. Even the UWW president wrote to them regarding the matter. This visa refusal is entirely the US Embassy’s fault, and as a result, India lost out on gold medals. Among the nine wrestlers denied visas, at least two were strong gold medal prospects. India suffered a major medal loss due to the US Embassy’s fault,” Singh told IANS on Wednesday.
While the full 10-member men’s freestyle team was cleared to travel to Las Vegas, the Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling campaigns were overshadowed by a visa dispute, as nine grapplers did not receive their US visa clearances. The U23 World Championships began with Greco-Roman action (Oct 12-14) and the women’s events (Oct 14-16), before concluding with the men’s freestyle competitions (Oct 16-18). (IANS)
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