The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan was first recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1993, and Tajikistan made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. The nation debuted at the Winter Olympic Games in 2002 in Salt Lake City, and was making its second Winter Olympics appearance in Turin. The Tajikistani delegation to Turin consisted of one alpine skier, Andrei Drygin. He was the flag bearer for the opening ceremonywhile Abdugafar Sharipov performed the duties for the closing ceremony. Sharipov was a non-competitor at these Olympics however, he was listed by the IOC as an alpine skier.