Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], August 13 (ANI): Indian Qwan Ki Do athlete Shayra said that issues in securing her passport led to her missing an international competition and that she was to bear travel and security expenses on her own.
Shayra is a Qwan Ki Do artist, which is a Vietnamese form of martial art. Speaking to ANI, said that she could not articulate her problem properly to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Speaking to ANI, she recalled how she received a direct scholarship of Rs 1.5 lakh from the Qwan Ki Do Federation of India after winning a national-level competition in Jammu, sealing her ticket in an international domestic competition, but was to bear Rs 50,000, in travel and security fees on her own. Shayra also said that delays in her receiving the passport also contributed to her not being able to go to the competition, as she could not apply to the passport as she still had some days left to turn 18.
"I could not fully articulate what I wanted to say to the Chief Minister. I was a bit flustered and lost my composure...the national event held in Jammu was for Qwan Ki Do. I won a gold medal there and was selected for the international event. I was receiving direct sponsorship of Rs 1.5 lakh, but I had to cover Rs 50,000 myself for expenses like travel and security fees. There were also issues regarding the passport; I could only apply for one once I turned 18. Another option was to apply using my family members' passports, but they did not have them. I was to turn 18 in 15 days and when when I went to the passport office after 15 days, I was told it would take at least 20 days for the process. That timeline meant I would miss the deadline. So I did not get the passport made, which killed my chance of going even more," he said.
The principal of her institution, CNI Girls Inter College, Ribaka Singh, said to ANI that the school was not aware of the matter and will help her whenever she needs it once she passes out of the school. She also assured that the school would have helped if Qwan ki Do was a part of the school system.
She said, "What the girl said there was a personal incident with her. It is not related to our school because she does not play this sport at our school. She narrated her ordeal. She is a good student and very active in sports. She also plays basketball, but Qwan ki Do is not a part of our school system. We have seen her gold medal, and we appreciate. As soon as we got about her situation, we decided to help her. When she leaves here, we will help her whenever we need her in every manner. This was not in our knowledge. We would have helped her otherwise. We would have helped her out if the sport was a part of our school system." (ANI)
Qwan Ki Do athlete Shayra says issues in securing passport did not let her represent India in international competition
