Rajyavardhan Rathore tweeted in support of Indian footballer Aditi Chauhan and requested the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help the footballer for her visa extension.
Aditi who is currently playing for English club West Ham as a goalkeeper in it’s women’s team is facing a problem of not being able to get an extension for her visa, which expires on January 29.
Despite repeated efforts from Aditi and her family members, they have not been able to get the extension from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). But there seems to be some hope with Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and 2004 Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore intervening. Rathore got to know of Aditi’s plight through a tweet and how she has been trying to get her visa extended for the last four months.
Sir @Ra_THORe Thanks for the reply of Our Query about #IIMC_DG. Sir can you please help @aditi03chauhan she is facing some visa issue.
— Suraj Pandey (@Uploding) January 6, 2016
Rathore has asked MEA spokesperson and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to look into the matter. Aditi is the first footballer from India to play for an English club and has also won the best Asian footballer of the year award in 2015. Presently, she is playing for West Ham ladies team on a student visa and on it’s expiry on January 29, the club also can’t help her in staying back in England.
Welcome. Dear @MEAIndia please help with Visa for @aditi03chauhan, she is an internat’l footballer . @SushmaSwaraj https://t.co/eolcymgcmq
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) January 6, 2016
Aditi’s father was also ready to sponsor her visa but FA rules doesn’t allow him to do so. An online campaign was started by her brother to garner support and more than 11 thousand people asked the government to grant Aditi a work visa, which will allow her to play a full season for West Ham. But with Rahtore’s intervention there seems to some kind of hope for Aditi and her dreams.
