Sports Minister’s China trip cancelled over ‘visa denial’ to Arunachal athletes
China had discriminated against some of the Indian athletes “in a targeted and pre-meditated manner”, India’s foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
NEW DELHI: India has cancelled Sports Minister Anurag Thakur’s trip to the Asian Games in Hangzhou saying that Chinese authorities had denied accreditation and entry to Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh.
According to media reports, three women martial arts fighters from Arunachal Pradesh were approved to take part in the sports extravaganza by the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee.
Two of the Wushu players hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu who were approved to take part by the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 Organising Committee were unable to download their accreditation cards – which act as visas to enter China.
The third athlete Nyeman Wangsu, who managed to download her accreditation, was informed that she would not be allowed to travel beyond Hong Kong.
The athletes were to take part in individual events of the martial arts sport.
The northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is claimed almost in full by Beijing, which calls it “South Tibet”.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said as a mark of India’s protest against China’s discriminatory behaviour, Union I&B and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has cancelled his scheduled visit to China for the Games.
Bagchi said India reserves the right to take “suitable measures to safeguard our interests’.
“The government of India has learnt that the Chinese authorities have, in a targeted and pre-meditated manner, discriminated against some of the Indian sportspersons from the state of Arunachal Pradesh by denying them accreditation and entry to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China,” Bagchi said.
“In line with our long-standing and consistent position, India firmly rejects differential treatment of Indian citizens on the basis of domicile or ethnicity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” he said.
Bagchi said a strong protest has been lodged in New Delhi and Beijing against China’s “deliberate and selective obstruction” of some of our sportspersons.
“China’s action violates both the spirit of the Asian Games and the rules governing their conduct, which explicitly prohibits discrimination against competitors from member states,” he added.
Wushu, or kung fu, is a multi-disciplinary martial art originating in China.
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