Olympic torch controversy

By refusing to carry the Olympic torch as it passes through India this month, the country’s biggest football star Bhaichung Bhutia became the world’s first athlete to take such a stand. The rumblings over China’s actions in Tibet have been growing steadily as the Beijing Olympics approaches and Bhutia added fuel to the fire by declining the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) offer of carrying the torch.

In a letter to the IOA, Bhutia said he was honoured to be given the responsibility but had to decline "due to personal reasons". The reasons were definitely personal, since it concerned a matter close to his heart.

Talking to XPRESS from Kolkata, Bhutia said: "I haven’t mentioned in my letter to the IOA anything more than the fact that I had declined the offer due to personal reasons. But the truth of the matter is that this is my way of showing solidarity with my friends in Tibet."

Bhutia thus joined a select group who have either withdrawn or protested against Olympic-related events. Last month, Thai environmentalist Narisa Chakrabongse withdrew on the Tibet issue, while renowned director Steven Spielberg withdrew as artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies over China’s policies in Sudan.

Bhutia, for his part, is understandably flustered by all the publicity his stand has generated. "I really did not expect this kind of reaction to my stand. I have to try hard to concentrate on what I do best, which is play football. The SAF (South Asian Federation) football tournament is next on the agenda, the camp for which starts on April 5. It’s one of the very few tournaments we get to play," he said.

The irony is not hard to miss since the Indian football team have failed to qualify for Beijing.