Rocco Repetto will not play the Hero Indian Open. The Spanish player did not receive his visa to enter India in time and is returning home from Hong Kong. After many hours of tension and a thousand procedures carried out around the world, there has been no way to resolve the bureaucratic obstacle. Repetto is left with one fewer tournament in 2026 on the DP World Tour. One less opportunity. A real blow.
The Malaga golfer has moved heaven and earth to find a solution. The DP World Tour has spoken directly with the Indian government, letters have been sent to the Spanish embassy in New Delhi and a diplomatic mediation has even been secured. Indeed, as recently as today the Spanish ambassador to India was speaking with the Indian consul in Hong Kong to try to find a solution. Rocco himself went to the Indian consulate in Hong Kong to try to resolve the issue in person.
The deadlines were already very tight, but he tried until the last minute. The cut-off was 8pm, local time in Hong Kong, since that was the departure of the last plane connecting this region of China with New Delhi. After that, he would no longer have had time to reach India and play the tournament. The DP World Tour has done everything it could. In fact, in the starting times Rocco was listed in one of the last tee times to give him as much time as possible. There was no way and he has already been replaced in the tournament by the first reserve player. A pity.
That said, Repetto, who is 125th in the Race to Dubai, with nine tournaments played and five cuts made, was due to catch a flight from Hong Kong in the coming hours to return to Spain, since the next tournament will not be for almost a month, specifically the Volvo China Open. A good opportunity to make up for it.
Riesgo de tormenta y partidazos de los españoles en el mejor test de estrés del año
It is not clear what the bureaucratic mess was that left his request for a special visa to play the tournament bogged down. He applied for it as many as three times, but there was no way to unblock the situation. Add one more cause to a golfer’s list of risks for missing a tournament: physical problems, mental problems and diplomatic problems. Adri Arnaus is now the tournament’s second reserve. The first is the Englishman Jack Yule.
