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FIGURE SKATING: Plyushchenko, Slutskaya seek home wins at Cup of Russia

MOSCOW: Russia’s three-time world champion Yevgeny Plyushchenko is expected to head the men’s entries for the Cup of Russia, the sixth and last stage of the ISU Grand Prix starting here on Friday.

Plyushchenko, 22, announced earlier his decision to miss all the stages of this season’s Grand Prix series except the event in Moscow to avoid over-exerting himself and to concentrate on next year’s world championships and 2006 Olympics. The European title winner Brian Joubert of France, who defended his title at Skate America and Johny Weir of the United States, who clinched the titles at the NHK Trophy and at Paris last week, are expected to be Plyushchenko’s toughest challengers.

World champion Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, this season’s NHK Trophy winner, and the former world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia, who performed a comeback with a win at the Cup of China, will be the main challengers in the women’s event. The world champions in pairs’ skating, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, will miss this event but are expected to perform at the exhibition on Sunday. In their absence, the Chinese pair Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang are considered to be the hot favourites. In ice dancing, world champions Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov will be up against Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, who grabbed two Grand Prix series wins this season Skate America and the Cup of China.

After the Moscow leg of the series, the top six men and women along with the top six pairs and ice-dancing teams will qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final at Beijing from December 16-19. afp

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