China makes PLA soldier, who was part of Galwan clash, torchbearer for 2022 Winter Olympics

Beijing/New Delhi: In an obvious political statement targeting India, China deputed a Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) soldier who was part of the Chinese contingent that was involved in bloody skirmish with the Indian Army at the Galwan Valley in June 2020 was made a torch bearer at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Torch Relay on Wednesday.

According to the state-run Global Times, Qi Fabao, a regiment commander, had sustained a head injury in the fighting in the freezing Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.

Qi, the regimental commander from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang military command, carried the flame from Wang Meng, China's four-time Olympic short track speed skating champion, at the Winter Olympic Park on Wednesday.

On February 4, the Olympic flame, after being relayed by about 1,200 torchbearers, will light the main cauldron at the National Stadium, to mark the beginning of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a commanding officer (CO), were killed in the fierce clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, in what was the biggest military confrontation in over five decades between the two sides.

The Chinese side, after keeping mum over their casualties, revealed after 10 months that four of their soldiers had been killed, though according to western media the Chinese army suffered several casualties in the fighting. (UNI)