Indian camp COVID-19 free, Winter Olympics manager Abbas Wani tests negative after retests

The manager of the Indian contingent for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has tested negative for COVID-19, a day after testing positive upon arriving in Beijing.

After two retests in the last 24 hours, Mohammad Abbas Wani, along with the Indian contingent, breathed a sigh of relief as the reports came back negative. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) confirmed the news on Thursday.

IOA president Narinder Batra said:

“The manager of Indian team Mr. Abbas Wani tested negative in the two tests done on him in last 24 hours. Hence, the entire Indian contingent in Beijing is covid free."

The multi-sporting event is scheduled to take place between February 4 and 20, 2022 in Beijing, China. However, some sporting events including curling and luge commenced on February 2, two days before the opening ceremony. Meanwhile, Indian skier Arif Khan, along with chef de mission Harjinder Singh and support staff, left for the Chinese capital on February 1.

"My expectation is to be in the top-30 at 2022 Winter Olympics" - Arif Khan

Arif Khan is the lone Indian participant at the quadrennial event. Khan secured a spot at the 2022 Winter Games in northern Montenegro in December.

He also qualified for the slalom in alpine skiing. With this achievement, Khan became the first Indian to win direct quota spots in two different Winter Olympics events. At a virtual interaction, organised by the Sports Authority of India, Khan said:

"To be honest, if you want to be a medal contender, you require at least 10 years of training and preparation. You need to have (decent) budget and funding, only then it's possible to be in medal contention. I have been training for over a couple of years seriously and my expectation is to be in the world's top 30. To be in the top 30 is like medal winners in the world."

Khan will take part in the slalom and giant slalom events in Beijing. Both his events are scheduled to take place on February 13 and 16. Khan is aiming for a modest top-30 finish in the mega-event, which begins on Friday (February 4).