Arunachal Pradesh players banned from the Asian Games by China: India protests
Arunachal Pradesh players banned from the Asian Games by China
The "deliberate and selective" exclusion of three athletes from Arunachal Pradesh from the Asian Games in Hangzhou drew a sharp response from India on Friday, prompting the cancellation of the sports minister Anurag Thakur's trip to China.
Three women wushu competitors from Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its own, were unable to go to Hangzhou because they were unable to obtain their travel documents from a government website in China. The remaining 10 members of the wushu team, who make up the squad, had no such problems and left on Wednesday for Hong Kong, where they would then connect to a flight to Hangzhou.
The same three athletes were denied entry to a sporting event in China for the second time in just two months.
Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the external affairs ministry, stated that "a strong protest has been lodged in New Delhi and Beijing against China's deliberate and selective obstruction of some of our sportspeople."
The minister of information, media, youth affairs, and sports of India canceled his planned trip to China for the games, he added, as a sign of protest against the Chinese action.
Bagchi said that by denying them accreditation and access to the Asian Games, Chinese authorities discriminated against some Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh in a "targeted and premeditated manner."
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