Iran misses Saber World Cup over Egyptian visa denial
Iranian fencers were ruled out of the Saber World Cup event, which began Friday in Cairo, Egypt, after being denied entry visas by the African country.
The Iranian sabreurs had been training under intense conditions for more than 45 days at the Christian Bauer training camp in Italy but will now return to Iran in the coming days. They are expected to continue their preparations in Tehran as they shift focus to upcoming competitions – including September’s Asian Games in Japan.
This was the second Egyptian visa saga for Iranian athletes in less than a month.
Earlier in May, the Iranian weightlifting squad had to make a late arrival in Ismailia for the World Junior Championships after a visa delay threatened to derail their men’s title defense.
The Iranian eight-man team still beat the odds to win the team crown with an impressive haul of six golds, seven silvers, and one bronze.