UAE stalling on visa requests forces Israeli windsurfers to pull out of event
Shahar Zubari and Ma’ayan Davidovich will not be able to compete in the World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi.
By ALLON SINAIMa’ayan Davidovic(photo credit: PABLO LANZA/ISRAEL SAILING ASSOCIATION)
Israeli windsurfers Shahar Zubari and Ma’ayan Davidovich will not be able to compete in the World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi next week after local authorities in the United Arab Emirates stalled in granting them visas.Only the world’s elite windsurfers will take part in the event, with just 20 men and women to participate in each of the RS:X fleets.The names of both Israelis appear on the official entry list, but they will not be able to compete after the organizers of the event failed to secure visas for Zubari and Davidovich.“We did everything we could to take part in the competition,” said Israel Sailing Association chairman Gili Amir. “Monday was the last day in which we could have sent the equipment to Abu Dhabi and since we still hadn’t received visas and had no other alternative to send the equipment at a later date we decided to pull out of the event.”The World Cup Final begins on November 27 and will run until November 30.
