Champagne on ice

Figure skating: Former Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushchenko made a winning return to competitive action as Moscow hosted the second stage of the world grand prix series.

Plushchenko, who famously accompanied Dima Bilan's winning Eurovision performance in Belgrade 18 months ago, was the winner of the men's solo category, collecting 240.65 points as he finished well ahead of Japan's Takahiko Kazuki on 214.63.

Plushchenko's performance was accompanied by the music of Edwin Marton, who wrote Bilan‘s winning song in Belgrade.

In the pairs there was a Japanese-Russian double act to claim a silver medal - Yuko Kawaguchi, who has taken Russian citizenship to fulfill her dream of competing at next year's Vancouver Olympics, was partnered by Alexander Smirnov.

Kawaguchi, now also known as Kavaguti, had earlier skated for Japan with Alexander Markuntsov, before splitting from him and representing America with Devin Patrick. She became a Russian citizen in December 2008 to enable her to compete in the Olympics, and was forced to give up her Japanese passport since Tokyo does not recognise dual nationality.

Experts reckon that Plushchenko has a 70 per cent chance of landing a medal in Vancouver in February, while Kawaguchi and Smirnov are highly tipped for the doubles.

 

Five-star Dinamo

Hockey: New coach Andrei Khomutov has found the winning formula for Dinamo Moscow, who are now on a five-match winning streak.

Home victories this week over Sibir (3-2), Amur (6-2) and Metallurg Novokuznetsk (1-0) kept the team in good form ahead of this week's clashes with the fellow Dinamos of Minsk and Riga.

Saturday's shut-out of Metallurg was a personal triumph for goaltender Vitaly Yeremeyev, who was making his 350th appearance between the sticks for Dinamo.

CSKA found life tough on the road last week, going down 5-2 to Barys Astana before slipping to a 1-0 defeat at Avangard Omsk. But the Army Men enjoyed a long rest after their travels, and return to action on Wednesday night at home to struggling Dinamo Riga (7:30 pm) looking to get back on form. After that it's two more away games, in Minsk and St. Petersburg on Friday and Sunday.

Spartak had a mixed week, losing 3-5 at home to high-flying SKA St. Petersburg but bouncing back to beat Severstal Cherepovets 3-1.

 

Top - for now

Tennis: Dinara Safina is back on top of the world - but will need a strong performance in Doha to maintain her status at the end of the season. The Russian star went back ahead of rival Serena Williams after the points from last season's battle of the WTA's top eight were discarded from the rankings.

This year's draw pits the Williams sisters against Russians Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Maroon Group, while Safina faces Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic and Victoria Azarenka in the White Group. The top two from each round robin progress.

In the Kremlin Cup Mikhail Youzhny won the men's event at Olympiisky, beating Janko Tipsarevic in the final. Alisa Kleybanova was the only Russian girl to reach the semis of the women's event, won by Italy's Francesca Schiavone.

 

Tragic gymnast

Gymnastics: Russian star Yury Ryazanov has been killed in a road accident - just days after returning from the World Championships in London with a bronze medal. The 22-year-old, rated as one of Russia's brightest medal hopes for the 2012 Olympics, was driving from Moscow to his home in Vladimir when his car was involved in a head-on collision. Police reports suggest he lost control of his vehicle and flew into the opposite lane, Sovietsky Sport reported. Ryazanov's recent success in the individual all-around category at the World Championships ended a 10-year medal drought for Russia in that category.