Arunachal Pradesh's Bamang Tago, manager for the Indian badminton contingent, on Wednesday sought the intervention of Minister of State, Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju after he was denied visa 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 running from pillar to post after he was denied visa by the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi "on ground of Arunachal domiciles", a day after applying for the travel document on 10 November.
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 today but I am stuck here.
He added that his visa requires a special approval from Beijing as he belongs to Arunachal Pradesh.
Tago was to lead a 14-member Indian team on the invitation of Fuzhou Municipal Sports Bureau to participate in the Thaihot China Open in Fuzhou, which started on Tuesday and will conclude on 20 November.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) had submitted all required documents of members of Indian contingent at Chinese Embassy, New Delhi several weeks back for obtaining the travel documents. But while all other 13 members got their visa without any problem and left for Fuzhou on 12 November, Tago has been left behind.
It has been 54 years since the Chinese aggression of 1962 and 70 years of India’s Independence. The issue of Arunachal Pradesh remains unsettled because of the territorial dispute between India and China which has put the future of the Indigenous people of Arunachal in uncertainty.
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, a team of Arunachal weightlifters were prevented to board their flight for possessing stapled visas.
(With inputs from PTI)
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