Two Tibetans to take part in Rio 2016 Olympic games

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, July 20: The Tibetan athletes will take part in the Rio 2016 Olympics games in Brazil, South America.

Choeyang Kyi, a 20km race walker and the first Tibetan Olympian along with Topgyal, a marathon runner will take part in the 2016 Olympics which will be held over August 5 – 21 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Choeying kyi, the first Tibetan to take part in Olympic games and the only Tibetan medalist, was born in Tsochang in the Traditional Tibetan province of Amdo.

This is her second Olympic games. In 2012 London games, she was initially awarded bronze medal in her event; but she was later awarded Silver medal as the Russian silver medalist was stripped off her medal for positive doping test.

Topgyal was Born in Dagze County, in the Tibet’s capital city, Lhasa. He has taken part in a lot of international and domestic games and earned his place in the Rio 2016 Olympic games for his stand out performances since 2012.

“Tibet has never fielded an Olympic team and that he and other Olympic experts he consulted weren’t aware of any previous Tibetan Olympian,” sports.inquirer.net quoted Olympic historian Bill Mallon as saying after Choeying’s success in its report on August 12, 2012.

However, according to a report on Chinese state run website en.Tibetol.cn Tibetan archer Dorjee Qiuyun (Dorjee Choeying) was described as the first Tibetan Olympian for taking part in the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 and Topgyal as the second Tibetan athlete to represent China at the games and first time for a Tibetan athlete to participate in the track and field events.

The report, for unknown reasons, failed to mention Choeying kyi’s feat at the 2012 London Olympics.