India at Olympics 2024: Archery Team Psychologist Bound for Paris Stranded in Delhi Over Visa Troubles

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There's no end to the Indian archery team's controversy at the Paris Olympics 2024. Hours after India's Korean archery coach Baek Woong Ki was forced to return to India due to accreditation issues, a goof up on the part of the Archery Association of India (AAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had the archery team's psychologist stranded in Delhi.

While the six-member Indian archery team including two coaches (Sonam Tshering Bhutia coach and Purnima Mahato) have shifted to Olympic Games Village on July 19, psychologist Gayatri Aditya Madkekar doesn't have the necessary travel documents to board a flight to reach France.

Worryingly, these unwanted impediments are cropping up when the Indian archers are hours away from the qualification round on July 25 -- a day before the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony --, where favourable results for all six archers (three each from men's and women's). Follow our elaborated Paris Olympics coverage

Off-the-field development of team psychologists facing visa issues trickled down two days after Baek Woong Ki was stranded in Paris for lack of accreditation to accompany the national team to Games Village. The Korean archery expert reached Delhi on Sunday. A

The psychologist was hopeful of a positive solution to fly to Paris on Monday. "The SAI (Sports Authority of India) and IOA (Indian Olympic Association) are working to get necessary documents (visa) for smooth travel to Paris," Gayatri said.

Despite having gotten her biometric, to travel to France, done earlier in June in Istanbul, when she was travelling with the Indian archery team, Gayatri didn't get her visa to travel with the Indian team for a ten-day pre-Olympic Games practice in Marseille.

On July 16 the government (sports ministry) cleared her name for the Paris Olympic 2024. She was among the four-member archery coaching and support staff. Gayatri didn't throw light on her accreditation card, whether she got it from IOA but said the French Embassy in Delhi is supportive. "I think I will get my visa soon," Gayatri added.