3 Arunachal Pradesh athletes denied entry for Asian Games, Anurag Thakur cancels China trip in protest

India on Friday lodged a ‘strong’ protest against China over three wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh not being allowed to travel to Hangzhou for the Asian Games, with the union sports minister Anurag Thakur cancelling his visit to the country. Addressing the media, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs Arindam Bagchi said India rejects the differential treatment of Indian citizens on a domicile basis and added that China's actions are violating the spirit" of the Asian Games. “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. 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,” the MEA spokesperson said.

The three wushu players - Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu - received their accreditation cards from Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) which also acts as an entry visa. However, they could not download their travel document on Wednesday when they were scheduled to leave for the Asian Games. Rest 10 Wushu players faced no such issue. "Once the athletes received the accreditation cards from the organising committee, it meant that they were cleared to travel for the Asian Games. But surprisingly only these three players could not download their document and they could not board the flight," an official said.Union sports minister Anurag Thakur has cancelled his visit to China for the upcoming Asian Games amid an escalating row over entry to athletes. The MEA announcement came after Chinese authorities denied accreditation and entry to some sportspeople from Arunachal Pradesh for the Games. Beijing on Friday justified its decision to deny entry to the three Indian athletes by suggesting that they did not have "valid" documentation. Meanwhile, a senior Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) official was quoted by AFP as saying Friday that they had been issued visas for the Hangzhou Asian Games, denying they were barred."These India athletes already got a visa to enter China. China didn't refuse any visa," OCA honorary life vice president Wei Jizhong, who is from China, told a press briefing in Hangzhou.