Akal Takht Jathedar terms turban incident shameful

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh today said that it was extremely shameful that two Sikh players were asked to remove their turbans on the basketball court in China.

Gurbachan told ANI, "The incident that happened in China is a shameful incident. Our government should take notice of the issue. Those Sikh players who go outside and play, they play with turbans. If you look at the history, Sikh players went outside and participated in Olympics wearing turban. I ask the government to compensate the players who were playing well so as to give them encouragement."

Two Sikh players - Amritpal Singh and Amyjot Singh - were asked to remove their turbans before India's match against Japan on July 12. Match officials informed the players that they were breaking international basketball federation (FIBA) rules by wearing turbans.