April 3, 2008

No Torch Support from Football Captain

India footballer in Tibet protest
India's football captain Baichung Bhutia has refused to carry the Olympic torch during its journey through the Indian capital Delhi later this month.
He told the authorities the move was in protest against China's crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators, officials said.
[...] "I sympathise with the Tibetan cause. This is my way of standing by the people of Tibet and their struggle. I abhor violence in any form," Bhutia told the Times of India newspaper.
Bhutia is a Buddhist who comes from the north-eastern Indian state of Sikkim which has long been claimed by China as its own territory.
The footballer told the newspaper he had not been requested by any group to pull out of the torch run.
"This is an absolutely personal decision. I feel what is happening in Tibet is not right and in my small way I should show my solidarity," he said.

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