China's national pole dancing team is boycotting an international championship after organizers failed to display the Chinese flag at the event.
The team first discovered that their national flag was missing from a row of flags outside the main venue of the World Polesport Championships in Florence, Italy last week.
To protest, the group put up their own flag.
The president of the Italian International Pole Sports and Arts Federation (IPSAF) allegedly said that a flag pole was broken and promised to team coach Yuan Biao that it would be fixed in time for the semifinals.
But the semifinals came and went, and China's flag was still missing. According to People's Daily, the national flags of all the other participating countries were raised. A total of 25 countries are participating in the event this year.
In response, the five dancers who qualified for finals pulled out of the event entirely. Among them was a 12-year-old girl from Xinjiang participating in the junior contest.
China's National Pole Dancing team in Tianjin in 2014.
“At any competition, the national flag is a very serious matter,” said a male dancer on the team. "We were furious that Chinese flag was not displayed.”
[Images via People's Daily, SCMP, GBtimes]
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