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Bangladesh’s top table tennis player Muhtasin Ahmed Hridoy has been unable to travel to Tashkent for the 29th Asian Table Tennis Championships despite having an on-arrival visa, after a cross mark appeared beside his name on a letter sent from Uzbekistan.
The championship will be held in Tashkent from October 19 to 25. The Bangladesh team’s players and coaches arrived at the airport on Saturday night to travel to the tournament. Three male and three female players, along with coach Ali, were scheduled to travel.
While Sonam Sultana Soma and Moura managed to board the flight to Tashkent, Hridoy was denied travel. He said he had received a boarding pass, but it was later cancelled after officials noticed the cross mark beside his name.
“Everyone else could board the flight to Uzbekistan with an on-arrival visa, but I couldn’t. The letter they sent had everyone’s names correctly listed, but there was a cross mark beside mine. They issued my boarding pass and then cancelled it,” Hridoy told Bangla Tribune.
He said nobody could explain why the mark had been placed beside his name, adding that the federation also had no clear answer. He expressed hope that the issue could be resolved and that he might still be able to travel if a solution was found on Sunday.
Earlier, Hridoy shared his disappointment on social media, describing the incident as another difficult day in an already challenging period of his professional career.
He said he had waited at the airport for three hours, hoping to join his teammates and represent Bangladesh at the championship, but ultimately had to return home alone.
Hridoy also recalled that his mother had come to a metro station on Saturday morning to see him off as he set out for Tashkent, hoping to compete internationally for his country.
“Now I am returning home alone. It is very difficult to put this feeling into words. At this moment, I don’t even know whether I will be able to compete in the Asian Championship,” he wrote.
He added that he had prepared for the opportunity and hoped he would still get the chance to stand at the table wearing Bangladesh’s national jersey.