WRESTLING OLYMPIC QUALIFIER: Turkish embassy denies Onyebuchi visa

THE Nigeria representative to the 2016 World Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 scheduled to hold between 6–8 May 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey, Blessing Onyebuchi was yesterday denied visa by the Turkish embassy in Abuja.

Onyebuchi and head coach Nigeria Wrestling Federation ( NWF), Victor Kodei were scheduled to depart the shores of the country on Wednesday night for the Istanbul event which is the final qualification tournament for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

In ạ chat with SportingLife, NWF President, Hon Daniel Igali expressed frustration at the development and described it as a big setback for the federation after sourcing for the funds.

"We are still after the Turkish embassy, they told us they cannot give visa the same day and that we should call the people in Turkey to call them. The people in Turkey have been calling them but they are not picking their calls. So many people have called the ambassador but he has not been responding. So we just waited and waited and we had to go back to our hotel and try again tomorrow."

SportingLife had reported on Wednesday on uncertainty over Onyebuchi's participation at the event following the inability of the federation to secure necessary funding from the National Sports Commission (NSC) for her trip.

Responding on the report, Igali said: "We have to find our way for them to go.
It's only two people, so we have to find a way for them to go and come back, but now it is the Turkish embassy that is frustrating their trip.

"For a country that put up a bid to host an Olympic qualifying event, that people are now talking about rules and laws and how many days before we have to apply. We applied two weeks ago but they are the one who fix it, knowing fully well when we were supposed to travel."

The wrestling federation president is however optimistic that the wrestler would be able to meet up if granted the visa today.

"It will be very tight, but if we get it tomorrow (Thursday), she needs to weight-in immediately she gets there. I hope she can still make it," Igali said.