Photo/Illutration Myanmar’s state-run newspaper reports that star badminton player Thet Htar Thuzar will compete in the Tokyo Olympics. (Akihiko Kaise)

BANGKOK--Myanmar badminton star player Thet Htar Thuzar is facing a backlash in her homeland after announcing she will be part of her country’s delegation to the Tokyo Olympics that get under way next week.

Many of her fellow citizens view any participation in the Games by local athletes as a gesture of subservience to the Myanmar military, which seized power in a coup in February.

In a message posted on social media July 6, Thet Htar Thuzar announced that she will take part in the Olympics starting July 23.

She said her long-cherished dream has come true and expressed her hope that she can make her compatriots smile even for just a moment amid the hardships they are facing.

Myanmar’s state-run newspaper also ran a story, along with her photo on July 7, reporting the news.

“I’ll try to be the best representative for all the people of Myanmar,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.

Thet Htar Thuzar is hugely popular in Myanmar. But her decision to come to Tokyo did not go down well with social media users in her homeland.

“I won’t cheer you (at the Games) if you choose not to join a civil disobedience movement,” said one.

“I’m no longer proud of you,” said another.

“Right now, we’re not interested in anything but ousting the dictator from power,” said another.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information announced late July 12 that Thet Htar Thuzar and two other athletes will be part of the country’s Olympic delegation to Tokyo. They will leave Myanmar on July 22, according to the ministry.

Since the coup, many Myanmarese have staged protests against the military government and stopped working in a civil disobedience movement. According to a local human rights group, 899 people had died in military crackdowns by July 10.

Novel coronavirus infections began surging in Myanmar in late June, pushing the country into further turmoil.

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