Three Indian martial arts athletes from a region claimed by China have been forced to pull out of the Asian Games in Hangzhou after not receiving clearance from the host country, media reports say.
The three women, competing as wushu fighters, are from the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, a region claimed almost in full by Beijing as “South Tibet”.
Wushu, or kung fu, is a multidisciplinary martial art that originated in China.
According to the Hindustan Times newspaper, the trio 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.
The rest of the 10-member squad along with the coaching staff left for the games in Hangzhou on Wednesday, the newspaper reported.
Neither the Indian Olympic Association nor the Ministry of External Affairs immediately responded to requests for comment by the Agence France-Presse news agency.
The Indian wushu team did not travel to the Chinese city of Chengdu for the World University Games in July after the same three athletes were issued stapled, rather than pasted, visas – an indication that Beijing does not recognise India’s territorial claim over Arunachal Pradesh.
That move triggered angry reactions from India with the foreign ministry saying it was “unacceptable”.
Arunachal Pradesh is on the other side of the Himalayas from Tibet and shares a common Buddhist cultural heritage with its northern neighbour.
The Dalai Lama fled through the state in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in his homeland and has lived in India ever since.
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