Bhaichung refuses to join Olympic torch run

Indian football capt Bhaichung Bhutia has refused to carry the Olympic torch to protest China's crackdown in Tibet.

Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has refused to carry the Beijing Olympic torch during its run through the Indian capital later this month in protest over China8217;s crackdown on recent protests in Tibet, a sports official said Tuesday.

The Indian Olympic Association, which is organizing the flame8217;s run in New Delhi on April 17, has invited several top Indian athletes, including Bhutia.

Bhutia, among the first athletes to refuse to run with the torch, faxed his decision to the IOA on Monday, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

8220;This is my way of standing by the people of Tibet and their struggle. I abhor violence in any form,8221; Bhutia was quoted as saying.

The Olympic torch arrived in Beijing on Monday after demonstrations by a pro-Tibetan group during its passage from Ancient Olympia in Greece. The flame goes Tuesday to Almaty, Kazakhstan at the start of the 20-country, 137,000-kilometer 85,100-mile global journey with protests expected in several major cities.

Bhutia comes from Sikkim, which borders China.

8220;I sympathize with the Tibetan cause. I have many friends in Sikkim who follow Buddhism.8221;

Bhutia could not be reached immediately for further comment.

Tibetan exiles in India are highlighting their opposition to Chinese rule in Tibet with their own relay torch and by staging their own version of the Olympics from May 15-25 in Dharmsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile in northern India.

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Dharmsala is home to the Dalai Lama 8211; the Tibetan spiritual leader 8211; who fled to India in 1959.

Last month, a Thai torchbearer, one of six chosen to bear the flame in Thailand, also withdrew from the relay, saying she wanted to protest China8217;s actions in Tibet.

India8217;s football team will not be competing at Beijing after Australia, Japan and South Korea claimed the three Asian qualification berths for the 2008 Olympic tournament.