India on Thursday said it would not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics after China made a People's Liberation Army's regimental commander, who had suffered severe injuries during the Galwan clash, a torchbearer of the event, according to hindustantimes.com.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson aid it was regrettable that China chose to politicise the Olympics.
Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA's Xinjiang military command, who suffered a serious head injury during the Galwan Valley border skirmish on June 15, 2020, took the flame from Wang Meng, China's four-time Olympic short track speed skating champion, at Winter Olympic Park on Wednesday, reported Global Times.
A top lawmaker from the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee had earlier condemned China's decision to make an army officer, who was injured in a clash with Indian soldiers, the torchbearer for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
"It's shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics 2022 who's part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The US will continue to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India," tweeted Jim Risch, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member.
