A group of 29 Sri Lankan karate athletes set to compete in the 23rd Asian Karate Championship in China were unable to depart the country yesterday after failing to receive their visas on time.
The team was left stranded at Katunayake International Airport, as their flight to China departed at 2:00 p.m. without them.
The tournament, scheduled from September 5 to 7, will now go ahead without Sri Lankan representation.
Each athlete had reportedly paid Rs. 580,000 to the Sri Lanka Karate-Do Federation to cover travel, visa, and logistical costs.
Despite repeated assurances from federation officials that visas would arrive by the morning of departure, they failed to materialise.
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