Manager of the Indian badminton contingent, Bamang Tago who resides in Arunachal Pradesh has been allegedly denied his visa by the Chinese government to travel to Fuzhou for the ongoing China Super Series Premier badminton tournament.
Tago who is also the secretary of Arunachal Pradesh Badminton Association has been left dismayed when his visa was denied by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, due to his “Arunachal domicile”, a day after applying for the travel documents on November 10.
In an exclusive interview, the Indian manager told PTI, “I have been in Delhi since November 10 but I have not been granted the visa. I am the manager of the Indian team and they are already there playing in the first round but I am stuck here.”
Tago solicited Kiren Rijiju, the minister of home state affairs who assured the manager that he would look into the matter and get back with something positive as soon as possible. Tago further added, “When I checked with the Chinese Embassy about the status of my visa application, I was told by embassy officials that since I belong to Arunachal Pradesh, an approval from Beijing is required. There has been no response from the Chinese Embassy since then.”
Bamang Tago was charged with leading a 14-member Indian team on the invitation of Fuzhou Municipal Sports Bureau to participate in the Thaihot China Open which kicked off on Tuesday and will conclude on November 20.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) had submitted all required documents of members of the Indian contingent at Chinese Embassy in New Delhi several weeks back for obtaining the travel documents but the territorial dispute of Arunachal Pradesh between India and China has put the future of the indigenous people of Arunachal in uncertainty.
This was not the first instance as, in 2011, a five-member karate team on its way to Quanzhou to take part in the Asian Karate-do championship was prevented by Indian immigration officials at IGI airport New Delhi for possessing stapled visa issued by the Chinese Embassy.
In January 2012, again a team of Arunachal weightlifters was prevented from boarding their flight for possessing stapled visas
China has now become an eminent location for international sports and will host more in the future and Tago feels, “in such a scenario, sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh will be deprived in days to come for no fault of theirs.”
