体坛英语新闻：Plushenko included into Russian team for 2018 Olympics

MOSCOW, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian figure skating star Evgeny Plushenko might participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the National Olympic Committee said Thursday.

On a 729-name list of the national team, Plushenko is among 55 figure skaters to compete at the 23rd Winter Olympics due in South Korea in February, 2018.

It would be the fifth time the 31-year-old athlete participated in the Olympic Games.

"I want to prove that to everyone ... that Plushenko is not a coward and that he did not betray his country," Plushenko told Moscow's Sports radio.

An Olympic medal-winner in 2002, 2006, 2010 and in the team event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Plushenko skipped the final part of the Sochi Games just minutes before the performance due to sudden back pain. He underwent a surgery in March.

 Later in June, Plushenko was included into the roster of the Russian figure skating national team for the upcoming season, marking the formal return of the "Ice Prince."