Winter Olympics 2022: India announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

India on February 3, 2022 announced diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing after China picked Chinese soldier involved in the Galwan clash with India as an Olympic torchbearer. 

India's diplomat will not be attending the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. The boycott will be at diplomatic level.  The Indian athlete will be participating in the event.

India's sole participant in the Winter Olympics 2022 is skier Arif Khan.

Why has India boycotted Winter Olympics 2022?

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement, “It is indeed regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics… the Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of India in Beijing will not be attending the opening or the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.”

Bagchi announced this while responding to questions on the reports of a Chinese soldier who was involved in the India-China clash at Galwan valley being chosen as the torchbearer for the Olympic Games.

India's state broadcaster Doordarshan has also announced that it will not telecast the opening and closing ceremonies of Winter Olympics. 

The decision came after a PLA regiment commander Qi Fabao, who had received military honours for the Galwan clash, was identified as one of about 1,200 runners bearing the Olympic torch at a relay in Beijing.

The United States applauded India's diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and calling out China for its "heinous human rights abuses and cold-blooded effort to turn Olympics 2022 into a political victory lap."

US, UK among dozen countries that announced diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

Dozens of countries led by the United States and United Kingdom have announced a “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Olympic Games. The other nations include Australia, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, the Netherlands and Czech Republic over human rights violations on the Uighur community in Xinjiang. 

The athletes of these countries will, however, participate in the Olympic games but diplomats will not.

India was one of the few countries that had expressed support for the Beijing Olympics, despite the boycott by so many countries. 

Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony 

Chinese President Xi Jinping will inaugurate the Winter Olympics opening ceremony at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium, which was built for the summer Olympics in 2008. With this, Beijing will become the first city to host both summer and winter Olympics. 

The Winter Olympics opening ceremony 2022 is expected to see in attendance Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia,  President Halimah Yacob of Singapore, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt and five Presidents from Central Asian republics -Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Galwan clash Background

A violent clash took place between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15 during de-escalation process. The clash erupted after China attempted to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation talks.

Twenty Indian soldiers including a colonel martyred in the Galwan clash. It was the bloodiest encounter between the two nations in over four decades.