IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Figure skating

Plushenko to skate in Sochi Olympics

Three-time world champion Yevgeny Plushenko will take part in next year's Sochi Olympics, despite undergoing an operation on his spine, his coach, Alexei Mishin, said on Wednesday. Plushenko, 30, the 2006 Olympic champion, failed to win his eighth European title when he was forced to retire in Zagreb, Croatia, earlier this month with a back injury and on Thursday will undergo surgery in Israel on an intervertebral disc. "The complete post-operational recovery will take a long time but not too long to affect his preparations for next season and its main event, the Olympics," Mishin said.