NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 Biden awards Asian artistsRead

Article

Myanmar swimmer withdraws from Tokyo Games as protest to ongoing coup

myanmar

    Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

    Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

    Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

    Win Htet Oo, one of Myanmar’s top swimmers, withdrew from consideration to compete in the Tokyo Olympics as a protest against the ongoing coup happening in the Southeast Asian country.

    The withdrawal: The 27-year-old swimmer made the announcement on Facebook on April 10 after the military took over the government in February, reported Swimming World Magazine.

    • “I do not wish to participate in the Tokyo Games under the stewardship of a NOC (National Olympic Committee) that is tied to a regime that continues to inflict suffering on my people,” he said.
    • In his post, he drew attention to the “indiscriminate killings” in the country and paid tribute to Ma Kyal Sin, also known as Angel, the 19-year-old Taekwondo practitioner who was killed during one of Myanmar’s bloodiest days.
    • “She went out there, defended her community every day until she was struck down,” he said. “And I’m inspired by her. I’m fortunate that I can live in Australia but they’re there every day being tortured by the military.”
    • He described the Myanmar Olympic Committee as a “puppet organization” for the regime and claimed that the International Olympic Committee’s acceptance of it “recognizes the legitimacy of a murderous regime.”

     

    Other details: Last month, Win Htet Oo called out the IOC and its President Thomas Bach, asking for the organization to expel the MOC from the Olympic Movement.

    • “Quite simply, this letter is about keeping genocide out of sport,” he wrote.
    • The swimmer also organized a petition via Change.org, which has received more than 900 signatures as of this writing.
    • Although he has already withdrawn from the Olympics, Win Htet Oo said he still follows a training program.

    Featured Image via South China Morning Post

    Support our Journalism with a Contribution

    Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

    Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

    However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

    We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

    Support NextShark

    Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal