DUSHANBE, February 10, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Alpine skier Andrei Drygin, who is representing Tajikistan in the XXI Winter Olympics in Vancouver arrived in the Olympic Village on February and got down to training, according to the Committee for Youth Sports and Tourism Affairs.

Tajik sportsman will enter competition on February 13, the source said.

Another Tajik alpine skier -- 24-year-old Alisher Qudratov – failed to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics.  However, Qudratov also went to Vancouver in order to gain more experience.

Tajik delegation that went 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.

Andrei Drygin was born on June 12, 1977.  He was the flag-bearer and only representative of Tajikistan at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics.  In 2002, Drygin competed in the giant slalom and Super-G, and failed to finish in either event.  In 2006, he finished 51st in the downhill event, with a time of 1:59.41, failed to finish the giant slalom, and finished 51st in the Super-G, with a time of 1:37.85.

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.