The XXIV Winter Olympic Games commenced yesterday in Beijing, China. Along with Yanqing and Chongli, the city is hosting multiple winter sporting events, thus becoming the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympics.
The Winter Olympic Games will feature 109 events across seven sports (15 disciplines) from February 4th to February 20th. Around 2,871 athletes, including 1,581 men and 1,290 women, are estimated to participate in the mega event.
The Sporting Disciplines
The Winter Olympics in 2022 will feature a record 109 events across 15 disciplines.
Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Figure Skating, Freestyle skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Curling, Nordic combined, Short track speed skating, Skeleton, Bobsleigh, Ski jumping, Snowboarding, and Speed skating are the 15 disciplines.
The Opening Ceremony
The 2-hour ceremony marked the beginning of the events on February 4th. The extravaganza was a sight to behold, with hundreds of performers putting on a variety of eye-catching performances.
The ceremony began with the introduction of China’s President, Xi Jinping, to a crowd of 25,000 people. In the presence of world leaders such as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Xi declared the Games open.
The message of the overall ceremony was all about peace. Hundreds of children danced and smiled while holding white doves in the air to commemorate the ceremony.
Placard holders of all the 91 countries contesting in the Olympics came together and formed a giant snowflake, symbolizing all people living in harmony.
An Olympic Amidst Diplomatic Boycotts
Many leading countries have boycotted the Beijing Winter Olympics, protesting against China’s record on Human Rights.
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, and New Zealand are among the governments that have decided not to send their officials to the event.
The Chinese government has been accused of violating rights and committing crimes against humanity, targeting the Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim minority communities in the country.
The event is being dubbed as the “Genocide Games” by protestors, whereas China has rejected all the allegations and labelled the boycott as “political posturing”.
No athletes from the protesting countries have been forced to boycott the event and, therefore, will participate in the games.
Indian officials Boycott Beijing Olympic Ceremony
India issued a last-minute diplomatic boycott in response to a Chinese soldier participating in the torch-bearing ceremony.
On Thursday, India announced that the top diplomat at the Indian Embassy in Beijing would not attend the event’s Opening or Closing Ceremonies.
The decision was made, after seeing images that showed People’s Liberation Army’s Commander Qi Fabao being honoured as one of the many people to bear the Olympic torch.
Qi was a commander in the 2020 India-China border dispute that killed at least 20 Indian soldiers.
India has accused China of bringing fraught politics between the two nations into an event supposed to be a “peaceful competition” among nations.
Arif Khan: India’s lone Participant
Kashmiri skier Arif Khan is the only athlete representing India at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The 31-year-old was the flag bearer of India in the Opening Ceremony.
Khan became the first Indian to qualify for two different Winter Olympics events and will be looking to become the first Winter Olympics medalist of the country.
Khan will be seen competing in the slalom and giant slalom alpine skiing events on the 13th and 16th of February.
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