DUSHANBE, February 2, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- One alpine skier – Andrey Drygin – will represent Tajikistan in the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver that will open on February 12, Asia-Plus has learned from Muhammadsho Abdulloyev, head of the international cooperation department, Tajikistan’s national Olympic Committee (NOC).

According to him, another Tajik alpine skier -- 24-year-old Alisher Qudratov – has failed to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics.  “However, Qudratov will also go to Vancouver in order to gain more experience,” Abdulloyev said.

He noted that Andrey Drygin had been trained for the Vancouver Olympic Games in Europe over the past two months.

Tajik delegation that will go to Vancouver consists of two skiers, Tajik NOC second vice-president Shirin Mamadsafoyev, Tajik NOC secretary general Bahrullo Rajabaliyev and the Tajik NOV international cooperation department head Muhammadsho Abdulloyev.

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler nearby. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC).

15 winter sports events have been announced as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The eight sports categorized as ice sports are: bobsled, luge, skeleton, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating and curling. The three sports categorized as alpine skiing and snowboarding events are: alpine, freestyle and snowboarding. The four sports categorized as Nordic events are: biathlon, cross country skiing, ski jumping and nordic combined.