Plushenko's withdrawal comes under fire from 2002 champion Yagudin

Plushenko, 31, pulled out of the men's short program in Sochi on Thursday, blaming a back injury he said he had aggravated during the warm-up. Yagudin, who beat Plushenko to gold at the 2002 Olympics, said it would have been better for him to compete anyway. "I support people who go to the end," Yagudin said. "We were expecting a bitter fight by Zhenya Plushenko with other strong skaters, but we didn't get it." "Zhenya," Yagudin said, referring to Plushenko by a diminutive of his first name, "I think will understand my words: We always competed through the pain." Plushenko helped Russia to gold in the inaugural team event Sunday, but his ability to compete in the men's event had long been in question, given that the injury-plagued skater would have to perform four programs in eight days, R-Sport reports. Long troubled by back and knee problems, Plushenko has said he had 12 operations since winning silver at the 2010 Olympics.