Karachi. Pakistan international Kabaddi player Ubaidullah Rajput has been banned indefinitely by the national federation for representing the Indian team in a private tournament earlier this month. The Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) banned Rajput after an emergency meeting on Saturday. He was found guilty of traveling abroad to play in the tournament without obtaining the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the federation or other concerned authorities.
PKF secretary Rana Sarwar said Rajput has the right to appeal before the disciplinary committee. Sarwar said the federation took serious note of the fact that Rajput not only traveled abroad without an NOC, but also represented an Indian team, wore its jersey and on one occasion draped the Indian flag over his shoulders after winning a match. “But he (Rajput) has claimed that it was a complete misunderstanding and he was not told that the team he would be playing for in this private tournament would be the Indian team,” Sarwar said. But still he is guilty of violating NOC rules.
Rajput landed into trouble after videos and pictures of him wearing the Indian jersey and waving the Indian flag went viral on social media during the GCC Cup. Sarwar said that other players have also been banned and fined for participating in this competition without taking NOC. Rajput had earlier apologized saying that he was invited to participate in the competition played in Bahrain and was part of a private team.
He said, “But I later came to know that they had named the team ‘Indian Team’. I asked the organizers not to use the names of India and Pakistan. In the past, Indian and Pakistani players have played together for private teams in private competitions, but those teams were not named after India or Pakistan. I was given wrong information.
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