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Apoorv Dwivedi
Winter Olympics began on 4th February in Beijing. Multiple countries like the USA, UK, India, etc went for the diplomatic boycott of the games. In a diplomatic boycott, only the players of a country participate and no official from that country attends the competition.
Several leaders like Vladimir Putin and Imran Khan attended the opening ceremony. The Indian contingent has only one player, Arif Khan. He represented India in the giant slalom event where he came 45th. This is the best individual performance by an Indian at this particular event.
The track of the Giant Slalom event was tricky with high elevation, hard ice floor covered with powdered snow. The skiers got affected by poor visibility and snowfall. Out of 87 competitors, only 47 could finish the track.
As of 14th February Norway leads the medal chart with 24 medals( 11 gold, 6 silver, and 7 bronze). Russian Olympic Committee and the USA are second and third with 20 and 17 medals respectively.
Hosts China is currently placed at 9th position with 12 medals which include 6 gold medals. Beijing is the only city to host the winter and summer Olympics. Beijing hosted the 2008 summer Olympics.
Russia once again came under fire for Doping after 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva who failed a drug test in December was cleared by the Court of Arbitration. Her doping case was not ruled out. WADA or World Anti-doping Agency wants her and her team to be stripped of the medal they won at the team event.
Russia is not allowed to participate under their flag and they participate under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee. IOC has announced that if she finishes in the top 3 in the forthcoming events she will not be a part of the medal ceremony.
The controversial start to the Beijing Olympics has been going on in a dramatic fashion. With ski ground criticized for being too difficult and the recent doping episode, the buzz around the games is far from over.