Arif Khan is the sole Indian sportsperson to compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. The Indian skier led a small Indian contingent during the Winter Olympics 2022 opening ceremony in Beijing, China on February 4, 2022.
Beijing Skier Arif Khan led a small four-strong Indian contingent during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony here on Friday amid a diplomatic boycott of the event by the country.
Arif Khan unfurled the Indian flag as he spearheaded the small contingent of four, representing India as the 23rd contingent to walk in during the mega Winter Olympics Ceremony amid a diplomatic boycott of the event by India.
Overall, the Winter Olympics opening ceremony saw participation from athletes belonging to 84 different nations.
Team #India🇮🇳in traditional #Himachali caps on international stage!!
— Sonia Randhawa (@SoniRw) February 4, 2022
- at the winter #Olympics #OpeningCeremony #BeingHimachali❤
|#Beijing2022 | #HimachalPradesh❤ | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/swLnQMtKZh
Arif Khan Winter Olympics 2022 Schedule
February 13, Sunday
Giant Slalom Run 1 – 7:45 am IST
Giant Slalom Run 2 – 11:15 am IST
February 16, Wednesday
Slalom Run 1 – 7:45 am IST
Slalom Run 2 – 11:15 am IST
Venue: Xiaohaituo Alpine Skiing Field in Yanqing District.
How to watch Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 live in India?
The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 live streaming will be available on Olympics.com. The Winter Olympic 2022 and Arif Khan’s slalom and giant slalom skiing events will also be telecasted live on India's DD Sports TV channel.
Who is Arif Khan: Know about him in 9 points
1. Arif Khan, the 31-year-old is the only Indian competitor at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
2. He will the 16th Indian Winter Olympian but first in history to qualify for two events in the same edition of the Winter Olympic Games.
3. He has qualified for the Slalom and Giant Slalom events. He will be seen in action on February 13th and February 16th.
4. Arif Khan was born in Kashmir's Baramulla district. His father Yasin Khan owns a ski equipment shop in Gulmarg.
5. Arif took up skiing as a sport quite early, winning his first national slalom championship when he was just 12 years old.
6. He also later won two gold medals in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events at the 2011 South Asian Winter Games.
7. He had also taken part in both editions of the Khelo India Winter Games in Jammu and Kashmir, Gulmarg.
8. He took part in the FIS World Ski Championships in 2013 and finished 59th in the slalom and 91st in the giant slalom event. He was unable to move past the qualification stage.
9. He has taken part in three more world championships since and his best result has been 45th in the giant slalom event in the 2021 edition in Italy. It was his first time qualifying for the final in any world championship event.
10. This will be Arif Khan's Olympic debut, making his hard-earned dream come true.
Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
India officially announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 last week after China chose a soldier who was involved in the Galwan clash as an Olympic torchbearer. India called China's move "regrettable", saying that the country chose to "politicise" the Olympics.
With this, India joins several other major nations that had announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics including the US, UK, Australia and several other nations over human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region.
India announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
Background
India has sent a six-member contingent to take part in the Winter Olympic Games 2022 in Beijing. The contingent includes Arif Khan, his coach, a team manager and a technician.
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