The Beijing Winter Olympics saw its successful completion on Sunday. It was the second Olympics in a span of six months to be pulled off under the shadow of the pandemic — the first one being the Tokyo Summer Olympics held last year. No matter what, China needs to be acknowledged for its wonderful efforts to ensure a safe and disciplined completion of the Games. Ahead of the Games, there were great challenges before China and the IOC. While the pandemic was the obvious spoiler, the diplomatic ban placed by a select powerful Western nation created a sulking environment around the conduct of the Olympics itself. Also, quite unfortunately, the stage of the Olympics saw a fair bit of geopolitical influence. Misuse of the occasion by China and Russia to express solidarity against the West over the Ukraine issue was completely uncalled for — if not on merit, then at least in the context. Olympics, in itself, is embodiment of a message of global fraternity and solidarity. The host and participating members may represent a certain ideology or political stand but the spirit of the Olympics should stand supreme and free from all influences. Then again, there was the doping scandal that stoked widespread controversy and raised critical questions that need to be solved by the earliest. Despite all these controversies and contradictions, the Beijing Winter Olympics was a spectacle in itself. While Norway, with an overall medal tally of 37, topped the chart, the hosts stood at 11th position. China, however, stood third in terms of winning gold medals. It won a total of nine gold medals against Norway's 16 and Germany's 12 gold medals. The United States won eight gold medals and stood fifth in terms of overall medal tally with 25 medals. The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won six golds but ended second with a total tally of 32 medals. IOC President Thomas Bach termed the organization of Beijing Olympics to be 'extraordinary' and credited China for conducting the Games "in such an excellent way and a safe way." The events were held with a modest crowd in a 'closed loop'. It can be said in certain terms that was the best way out. The world can have a lot of positive takeaways from the conduct of the 2022 Winter Olympics. It has also set, at the same time, some extremely bad precedents. The West persistently appeared to discredit the legitimacy of the event in one way or the other. It won't at all be an exaggeration to say that Western nations saw it as an opportunity to further their anti-China agenda. Of course, there was the garb of China's alleged persecution of minorities in Uighur province, among other issues, for them to hide behind. Even after the successful and safe conduct of the Games, there appeared to be a tone of discouragement — saying that only an 'authoritative' country like China could have pulled out such an event. This may set in an era where sports would become a battleground for geopolitics. Notably, the responsibility of major sporting events will now turn towards the West for at least 8-10 years. It should not come to us as a surprise if countries like China behave in a similar manner! This argument is not meant to paint any particular nation in a saintly color. Of course, there is an element of truth in allegations made by the West but we must honestly reflect upon what the true motivation behind the slurry of attacks was. Was it not, to a significant extent, the West-China rivalry? Fortunately, there were no rifts among the participating athletes on sensitive issues. China equally needs to be blamed, along with Russia and like-minded countries, for its certain antagonistic symbolic gestures. The Olympics is a global phenomenon representing a universal spirit. Narrowing its ambit by any nation or bloc should be considered as an unwelcome step. Referring to a hug between a Russian and a Ukrainian athlete, Thomas Bach summed it all saying that athletes "embraced each other even if your countries are divided by conflict." To conclude, while the safe and disciplined organization of the 2022 winter Olympics was a spectacle in itself, the mess of geopolitics around it represents a new low.