Animated animals perform winter sports in Google Doodle as Beijing Olympics 2022 open

NEW DELHI: The Winter Olympics gets under way in Beijing on Friday, and not surprisingly, it is the subject of Google's Doodle on the day.

So there's a tiger on a tiger cub on a skateboard, a fox playing ice-hockey and a wings-flapping duck on skis among animated animals performing various sports.

The games will continue through February 20. It will feature several disciplines of winter sports like cross-country skiing, speed skating, freestyle skiing and ski jumping.

However the event has been embroiled in some controversy. The United States and several other countries have diplomatically boycotted the Olympics, for reasons outside of sports.

India too has announced its top diplomat in China will not attend the opening or closing ceremonies, after a Chinese Army soldier who was involved in the Galwan clash with Indian soldiers in 2020 was named among the torchbearers for an event related to the games.

Several heads of states, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be in attendance for the opening ceremony.