India (Commonwealth Union) _ The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Asian Games organizers are looking into the case of three Indian athletes who were turned away from the competition in China due to a visa issue.
At a press conference in Hangzhou, OCA acting president Raja Randhir Singh said, “OCA is looking into it definitely, together with the organizers and the government. Since it involves diplomacy, they are investigating. And let’s see if something positive comes of it, hopefully”.
According to India’s foreign ministry, the three female wushu competitors from the state of Arunachal Pradesh received stapled visas rather than stamped ones. Stapled visas are not recognized as legitimate in India.
According to sources, the remaining nine members of the 10-person team and the coaching staff departed for the Games on Wednesday. According to Wei Jizhong, the head of the OCA’s ethics commission, China did not deny the athletes admittance last week.
Similar circumstances occurred in July, when the Indian wushu team was denied entry to the World University Games in Chengdu, China, after the same three athletes received stapled, as opposed to pasted, visas.
The practice of giving visas on loose pieces of paper has been interpreted as China challenging India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, a territory in northeastern India that Beijing claims is a part of Tibet. Arunachal Pradesh is close to the China-India border.
The assertion is vehemently refuted by New Delhi, which maintains that Arunachal Pradesh has always been a part of India. Since the 1962 conflict over the disputed Himalayan border, Beijing and New Delhi have had tense relations with one another. 2020 saw a deterioration in relations due to a border battle in which 20 Indian and 4 Chinese soldiers died.
Around 12,400 athletes from 45 teams are participating at the Asian Games, which have been postponed by a year owing to Covid-19, for 481 gold medals across a massive schedule of 40 sports. India sent 655 competitors to the quadrennial competition, and on Sunday, its rowing and shooting athletes took home five medals (three silvers, two bronzes).
The OCA also stated that despite North Korea’s suspension due to its violation of international anti-doping regulations, it is glad to have the North Korean flag continue to fly at the Games.
In 2021, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) prohibited the flag from being flown at all significant sporting events, excluding the Olympic and Paralympic Games, after concluding that North Korea had not put in place a successful testing regime.
However, North Korean athletes proudly carried the flag during the opening ceremony on Saturday, and it has been on display during events and in the athletes’ village. Although Wada and the Asian Games organizers were in conversation, Singh claimed that the flag was still “flying” for North Korea.
After failing to submit a team to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, it was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) until the end of 2022. As a result, it missed the Beijing Winter Olympics last year. Similar to this occurrence, the Indian Wushu team decided not to attend the World University Games in Chengdu, China, in July.
Similar circumstances occurred in July, when the Indian wushu team decided against going to Chengdu, China, for the World University Games after the same three athletes received stapled rather than pasted visas, a sign that Beijing does not recognize India’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.
The action was deemed “unacceptable” at the time by the New Delhi foreign ministry. Arunachal Pradesh and its northern neighbor share a Buddhist cultural legacy despite being on opposite sides of the Himalayas from Tibet.
The chaotic and tense between the two counties was firmly established after giving home shelter for the Dalai Lama, the spiritual Buddhist leader. Following a failed uprising against Chinese control in his native country in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled via the state and has been in India ever since.
