Asian Games 2023: Three Wushu athletes representing India, all hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, were denied clearance to travel to China for the Asian Games. Consequently, they missed their scheduled flight to Hangzhou, in contrast to the rest of the Indian Wushu team and accompanying officials who had already departed for China.
Wushu Athletes faced difficulty
As per reports, the athletes namely Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega, and Mepung Lamgu, faced difficulties in downloading their travel documents, even though they had received accreditation from the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC).
An official was quoted saying, “Once the athletes receive the accreditation cards, it is meant that they have been cleared to travel. But surprisingly only these three players could not download the document and could not board a flight.”
The remainder of the Wushu Squad did not encounter similar issues. The Indian Wushu contingent consists of a total of 11 athletes. With the exception of the three players mentioned earlier, the rest of the team departed for Hong Kong on Wednesday night. Subsequently, they reached Hangzhou via a connecting flight on Thursday.
Players ask for Kiren Rijiju’s intervention
According to reports, India’s Chef de Mission for the Asian Games, Bhupendra Singh Bajwa, has raised the matter with both the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia. As of now, there has been no response from the organizers regarding this issue. Additionally, it has been reported that the three players have also sought the intervention of Union Minister Kiren Rijiju.
It’s worth noting that in July of this year, the Chinese embassy issued ‘stapled visas’ to the same trio of athletes from Arunachal Pradesh when they were slated to participate in the World University Games in Chengdu, China. In response to China’s decision, the entire Indian Wushu contingent withdrew from the tournament as a protest.
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