Paris Gay Games a respite for oppressed athletes

PARIS: The Gay Games which are under way in Paris are not just a chance to celebrate sport and diversity: they offer crucial respite to gay athletes forced to hide their sexuality in their home countries.

Unable to share the truth about being gay with his family, 21-year-old Zhang Nan flew to Paris on the pretence of taking French classes.

But rather than practising grammar, he´s enjoying the freedom that comes with being himself. "My family is very traditional," he told AFP, his broad smile disappearing.

"My friends know I´m gay, but you can´t be openly gay in China. The government never talks about it."

The 21-year-old table tennis player is part of a delegation of 69 competitors from China joining 10,000 athletes at the games. "The competition here is very hard. But I came here mostly to find a man," he laughed. Passionate athlete Jay Mulucha´s life came crashing down when staff at the Ugandan university where he was studying discovered photos of him in the press attending an LGBTQ event.

"In Uganda, being gay is illegal. You can be beaten, arrested, evicted from your home, jailed or killed," he says.

"When (university staff) got to know, they suppressed my scholarship and I had to stop my studies," he said.

Despite being expelled from the university, dismissed by his family and assaulted, he wants to begin living openly as a gay man. "I didn´t want to hide anymore."