In the early hours of Thursday morning, it was announced that the Indian wushu team, scheduled to participate at the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) World University Games in China would not be attending the games after all.
The decision came after directions from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the Indian government.
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Why did the Indian Wushu team withdraw from World University Games?
Sources informed the Hindustan Times that the squad including eight players, one coach and three officials applied for visa clearances on 16 July.
Most of the members received visas in time, but three players; Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu all from Arunachal Pradesh did not have their documents accepted.
The three were told to resubmit their documents on Tuesday, 25 July but were only given stapled visas by the Chinese authorities on Wednesday.
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What is wrong with stapled visas for the World University Games?
Regular visas are provided in the form of stamps or stickers. The decision on China's part to issue stapled visas effectively destroys any chance of a person with one making it past the immigration counter at an airport.
This was a formal action that registered China's non-recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as a sovereign Indian territory, and thus led to India's MEA withdrawing the wushu team as a form of boycotting the games.
#NewDelhi lodges a strong protest with Beijing over the issuance of stapled visas to some sportspersons from #ArunachalPradesh.
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 27, 2023
It has come to the Government's notice that stapled visas were issued to some #IndianCitizens who were to represent the country at a sporting event in… pic.twitter.com/l5YfwU0TAB
Will the other Indians go to the World University Games?
The rest of the Indian contingent for the Games departed on Thursday, at 2:30 AM. This includes teams for events such as archery, diving, athletics, fencing and water polo among others.
Where to watch the World University Games?
There is no television broadcast of the World University Games. The tournament can be streamed online on Olympics.com and FISU TV.
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