Asian Games 2023: Xi hails IOC’s ‘non-politicisation of sport’ as diplomatic row breaks out over Indian athletes

Name: 2023 Asian Games: Afghan wushu fighters defy money woes to compete
Uploaded: 2023-09-22T18:08:55.000Z
Duration: 4 min 3 s
Description: 2023 Asian Games: Afghan wushu fighters defy money woes to compete

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach in Hangzhou on eve of opening ceremony

Meeting comes as three Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh are unable to enter country in visa row

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach in Hangzhou. Photo: Xinhua

Josh Ballin Hangzhou

Published: 2:08am, 23 Sep 2023Updated: 3:57pm, 23 Sep 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach in Hangzhou ahead of Saturday’s Asian Games opening ceremony.

According to state media, the pair discussed a range of topics, with Xi vowing to work with the IOC on upholding the principle of the “non-politicisation of sports”.

Those comments came within hours of a diplomatic row breaking out over the inability of three Indian athletes to attend the Games because of visa issues.

The three female martial arts athletes are from India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh – an area that is claimed by Beijing as Zangnan, or South Tibet.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman on Friday said the country welcomed athletes from all countries “with valid legal documents”, suggesting Beijing did not recognise the Indian passports.

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In his meeting with Bach, Xi also praised the world governing body for staying true to its “original aspirations” despite the “severe challenges” of the past several years and said it still had a “unique role in safeguarding world peace”.