Via AFP:
Russia reeled from the shock retirement of figure skating superstar Yevgeny Plushenko on Friday as the gruelling men's super-combined ski event was set to take centre stage at the Sochi Olympics.
Two-time gold medallist Plushenko withdrew injured from the men's short programme on Thursday, waving an emotional farewell to a stunned crowd before abruptly calling time on his illustrious career.
"Amateur sport is finished for me. Maybe not in the way that I wanted. But I leave with a gold medal, that is also great," the 31-year-old icon told Russia's Channel One.
"This is not how I wan...
