Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sept 22: Anurag Thakur, India’s Minister of Information & Broadcasting; and Youth Affairs & Sports, canceled his trip to China on Friday after China denied entry to three Indian players from Arunachal Pradesh.
The move was made in protest after China denied entry to three Indian wushu players, Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega, and Mepung Lamgu, the Ministry of External Affairs stated.
The remaining members of the Indian Wushu team, consisting of seven other players and support staff, departed for Hong Kong, and from there, they took a flight to Hangzhou, China.
“Government of India reserves the right to take suitable measures to safeguard our interests,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
In response to China’s denial of accreditation to athletes from Arunachal Pradesh, the MEA issued a statement that said, “India rejects differential treatment of Indian citizens on domicile basis.”
Further, the MEA said, “China’s action violates the spirit of Asian Games, rules governing their conduct.”
Our response to media queries on some Indian sportspersons being denied entry into 19th Asian Games:https://t.co/wtoQA8zaDH pic.twitter.com/cACRspcQkD
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 22, 2023
The Indian athletes returned to the Sports Authority of India hostel located at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Delhi.
A key source in China with the Wushu team stated that they had brought up the issue with the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) and the organizing body of the Asian Games. They expressed hope that the issue will be handled soon.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, said on Friday in reaction to reports that Indian competitors had been refused entry: “As the host country, China welcomes athletes from all countries to come to Hangzhou to participate in the Asian Games with legal documents.”
“As to the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’, the Chinese government doesn’t recognise it. Zangnan (southern part of Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region) is part of China’s territory,” Ning said.
