Bhutia pulls out

New Delhi: India’s football captain Bhaichung Bhutia refused to carry the Olympic torch when it arrives here this month to protest against China’s crackdown on unrest in Tibet. Bhutia, a Buddhist from northeastern Sikkim state — nestled between Nepal, India and China — wrote to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) saying he wanted to “show my solidarity” with Tibetans. “I sympathise with the Tibetans and their cause. I have sent a letter to the IOA refusing to carry the torch,” Bhutia said in a statement. Dubbed the “journey of harmony,” the Olympic torch relay which was launched by Chinese

President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Monday, is the longest ever, lasting 130 days and covering 137,000 kilometres. It will pass through 19 countries during April before returning

to China on May 4. — AFP