Asian Games: Anurag Thakur cancels China trip after 3 athletes from Arunachal denied entry

India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports of India, Anurag Thakur, has cancelled his trip to China after three Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh were denied entry to the country for the Asian Games.

The three India wushu players, Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega, and Mepung Lamgu were denied entry because they are from Arunachal Pradesh, a state that is claimed by both India and China.

Thakur's cancellation of his trip is a sign of the growing tensions between India and China. The two countries have been engaged in a border dispute for quite sometime and relations have been strained in recent years.

"Government of India reserves the right to take suitable measures to safeguard our interests," the Ministry of External Affairs said.

This decision was made as a significant diplomatic reverberation to China's refusal to grant entry visas to the Indian squad. 

Three Indian Wushu players, all belonging to Arunachal Pradesh, were denied the clearance to travel to China for the ongoing Asian Games. They were forced to stay put in the national capital of New Delhi while the remaining athletes on the list boarded their flight to Hangzhou.

India has lodged strong protests with China over its denial of accreditation for the Asian Games in Hangzhou to some of the Indian sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh, saying the action violates the spirit of the sporting event and rules governing its conduct.

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.

''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.

With inputs from PTI

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