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BEIJING: Three Indian martial arts athletes from a region claimed by China have been forced to pull out of the Asian Games in Hangzhou after not receiving clearance from the host country.
The three women, competing as wushu fighters, are from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, a region claimed almost in full by Beijing as “South Tibet”. Wushu is a multidisciplinary martial art that originated in China.
According to Indian media, the trio were approved to take part by the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee but were unable to download their accreditation cards, which act as visas to enter China.
The three women wushu fighters are from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The rest of the 10-member squad along with the coaching staff left for the games on Wednesday in Hangzhou.
India lodged strong protest with China over Beijing barring three wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh to travel for the ongoing Asian Games.
“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,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. “India reserves right to take suitable measures to safeguard its interests”.
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External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement that Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur’s trip to the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou was canceled in lodging protest over China’s action.
Arunachal Pradesh has become the latest flashpoint between India and China, which escalated last month after Beijing released its latest map including the territory in the map of China.
Earlier this year, China renamed 11 places in the disputed region. New Delhi consistently maintains that the state has always been, and will always be, an “integral and inalienable part of India”.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, “China welcomes athletes from all countries with legal documents to come to Hangzhou and take part in the Asian Games. The Chinese government does not recognize the so-called Arunachal region that you mentioned. South Tibet is part of China.”
The Indian wushu team did not travel to the Chinese city of Chengdu for the World University Games in July after the same three athletes were issued stapled, rather than pasted, visas – an indication that Beijing does not recognize India’s territorial claim over Arunachal Pradesh.
