Javelin Thrower Kishore Jena Gets Visa Appointment With Hungarian Embassy; Could Still Compete At World 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 appointment at Hungary embassy tomorrow at 9am." 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.

Thanks to all. Javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena has appointment at Hungary embassy tomorrow at 9am.@Media_SAI. @YASMinistry @Neeraj_chopra1 @Adille1 @WorldAthletics

In the wake of 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, Chopra urged Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to "find a solution".

"Just heard that there are 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.

Jena, who won gold in the Sri Lankan National Championships on July 30 with a personal best of 84.38m, had made the cut through the world ranking quota.

Jena had qualified for the event after being placed 36th in the Road to Budapest list updated by World Athletics (WA) following the completion of