Indian hockey goalkeeper Baljit Singh will travel to the United States after the sports ministry on Friday gave the go-ahead for his visit for seeking a second opinion and advanced treatment. We have been told that Baljits file has been processed and the sports ministry has agreed to bear the expenses for the US visit, Baljits father said. We are now waiting for the visa formalities and hope to leave soon, he added. Baljit will be seeking a second opinion at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He will be accompanied by Dr Kiran from the AIIMS,who was part of the team that operated upon Baljit,though his name is yet to be officially cleared. A ministry official said: The sports ministry has given an open-ended clearance to the Director General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) that the ministry will bear the expense (after three days of deliberations between the SAI officials and the head of the opthalmology department at AIIMS). Hockey India officials also said all decks have been cleared for Baljits travel and only visa was awaited. His father is likely to accompany him along with a doctor from the AIIMS and all cost will be borne by the government. Since his father doesnt have a passport,we have initiated the process and he will get it by Monday in Chandigarh. Thereafter,the visa will be applied for and we are hoping he would be able to leave by the end of next week, Hockey Indias communications manager Anupam Ghulati said. Making arrangements However,while Baljits relatives in the US have managed to get him an appointment at the hospital for August 3,it seems unlikely that he would be able to make it in time. But Ghulati said that the Indian high commission in Washington had already been informed and they were making arrangements to ensure easy passage for Baljit,adding that SAI DG Sayan Chatterjee was directly handling the matter. Baljit had earlier expressed concern about the delay in deciding his future course of treatment. Its a serious injury and we want to get a second opinion at the earliest, a family member had said. Doctors at AIIMS,though,had said there was no delay on their part and they were only waiting for ministerial approval.
