Indonesia has refused to grant a visa to an Israeli badminton player expected to compete in next week’s World Championships in the Southeast Asian country.
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Zilberman’s pleas to the Badminton World Federation fell on deaf ears until recent days when pressure from the Olympic Committee of Israel and Israeli global Olympic committee member Alex Gilady, who also rallied fellow IOC members, forced the BWF into action.
The 26-year-old Zilberman, who represented Israel in the 2012 Olympics, said on his Facebook page that “After exchanging letters for half a year and after sending all the documents they requested, and after arriving in Singapore!!”
His application was, however, turned down by Jakarta despite his attempting for months to secure permission to enter Indonesia.
An Israeli athlete was denied a visa to Indonesia for a match, in what the World Jewish Congress decried as “unfair mixing” of sports and politics. “On behalf of the World Jewish Congress, I would like to thank the Indonesian authorities who granted him the entry visa, as well as all those who worked for a resolution of this matter”.
The federation confirmed with AFP its secretary general Thomas Lund travelled to Singapore to assist with his case.
However, with the championships already beginning on Monday and Zilberman scheduled to play his first round match on Tuesday, the Israeli, ranked No. 44 in the world, enters his contest with Hsu (24) in a very tough position. Singer added: “This decision to bar an Israeli player from an worldwide sporting competition can’t stand, and I urge Indonesia to allow Misha Zilberman to compete in these championships”.
He did though say he was happy that he competed in Jakarta, saying: “It showed that “sport is more important than politics”.
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Indonesia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations.
