Winter Olympics

• 03 Feb 2022

Why in News?

The Russian President, Pakistan Prime Minister and five Presidents from Central Asia will reach China for the opening of the Winter Olympics.

What is the Significance of the Visit?

• The Russian President will discuss the ongoing crisis with Ukraine with the Chinese President.
  
  • China has close relations with Russia but has been largely silent on the crisis in Ukraine amid a build-up of Russian forces along its borders.
• The Pakistan Prime Minister is expected to discuss investments from China and speed up the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan.
  
  • China has also declared that it sought to discuss developing communications satellites for Pakistan and to cooperate on the construction of the Pakistan Space Centre.
• Due to the alleged human rights voilations in the Xinjiang province of China, the US, the UK, Canada and Australia have announced a “diplomatic boycott” of the games.

What is the Winter Olympics?

• Winter Olympics is the premier competition for sports that are played on ice or snow.
• It is held every four years and features participants from across the world.
  
  • Ice skating, ice hockey, skiing and figure skating are some of the popular sports that are played at the Winter Games.
• The first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.
• Winter sports were initially played at the Summer Olympics, with the 1908 London Olympics hosting four figure skating events and Antwerp 1920 having figure skating as well as ice hockey.
  
  • However, in 1924, a separate event was created for winter sports, called the International Winter Sports Week.
  • It was held in Chamonix, France – the host country for the 1924 Summer Olympics.
• Two years later, the International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was officially recognised as the first Winter Olympic Games.
• This years’ edition of the Winter Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China from 4^th February to 20^th February 2022.
• India has been participating in the Winter Olympics since 1964.

Source: TH