No, Beijing, of course, could not refuse or at least postpone the Olympics amid the pandemic.

The Japanese did it, and so can we.

Surely such thoughts affected the decision of the Chinese authorities to gather the best athletes from around the world in 2022.

Let's say right away: it was not possible to collect all the best.

And the point here is not only in the NHL - a league where games are canceled, and the covid protocol is replenished daily with new players.

Right now, Sasha Ovechkin is in it, that is, in any case, we would not have been able to gather all the best Russian hockey players.

The Chinese don't care that Omicron is softer than Delta.

The country easily closed million-plus cities after isolated cases of infection, made nightly vaccination raids on apartments and vaccinated, it seems, the entire population.

Unfortunately, the zeal with which the Chinese are trying to save the Olympics from a pandemic has already affected the atmosphere.

Daily and rather painful tests for coronavirus, a lot of paperwork that needs to be done in order to enter China, an atmosphere of total control over movements.

Security is everything here.

The Russian national team already has enough losses among both athletes and coaches.

I imagine how disappointing it is to miss the competition for which the athlete has been preparing for four years due to an asymptomatic illness.

But 2020 dealt a serious blow to the form and psyche of many athletes.

On the other hand, for Russian sports, this is a completely different Olympics.

If you remember, in 2018 the IOC arbitrarily decided which of the Russians would come to South Korea and which would be left out of the main competition of the four-year period.

Today in Beijing is one of the strongest skiers in the world - Sergei Ustyugov.

Before Pyeongchang, he was in great shape, showed excellent results, but ... was not allowed to compete.

And it was a blow from which Sergei recovered immediately.

Now about expectations and hopes.

We have the strongest line-up of figure skaters by world standards.

Kamila Valieva updated all possible records, Anna Shcherbakova surpasses everyone except Kamila Valieva.

Well, Sasha Trusova can surprise everyone, and above all herself, by putting together an ideal and most difficult program among all the skaters.

Bolshunov, Ustyugov and Nepryaeva in skiing, Kulizhnikov in speed skating, two Loginovs in biathlon and snowboarding, women's and men's teams in biathlon, Repilov in sledges, Tretyakov in skeleton, Wilde again in snowboarding.

And also figure skaters in pair skating and dancing, freestyler Burov and, of course, the hockey team.

With a share of luck, only the athletes I have listed can bring us a dozen and a half gold medals.

This is a clear overshoot of Gracenote's prediction and a solid second place in the unofficial medal standings.

True, Gracenote analysts respect our prospects and believe that we will take ten gold medals and give way only to the Norwegians and Germans.

Today, to win an Olympic medal, you need not only preparation, but also good luck to dodge the disease.

Such is the reality: against the backdrop of a pandemic, absolutely everything is happening today.

And we're still learning to live by the new rules.

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.