India lodges strong protest as China bars 3 wushu athletes of Arunachal Pradesh from Asian Games

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AFP report. India in lodging its opposition said, “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." External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement that Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur's trip to the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games was cancelled in lodging protest over China's action. The three women wushu fighters are from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

The rest of the 10-member India wushu squad, along with coaching staff, reportedly left for the Games on Wednesday. Wushu, or kung fu, is a multi-disciplinary martial art originating in China. According to a Hindustan Times report, the three Wushu athletes 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.

Arunachal has been a point of conflict between India and China, which escalated last month, after Beijin g released their latest standard map including Arunachal Pradesh in the map of China, designating the area as 'South Tibet". 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".

An AFP report quoted Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) honorary life vice president Wei Jizhong, “These India athletes already got a visa to enter China. China didn't refuse any visa". Asked about the trio at a regular foreign ministry briefing in Beijing, spokeswoman Mao Ning said, "China welcomes athletes from all countries with legal documents to come to Hangzhou