Teenager Kamila Valieva finished fourth in the women’s figure skating at the Beijing Olympics on Thursday as a doping scandal engulfing the pre-Games favourite appeared to take its toll. Her Russian team-mate Anna Shcherbakova took gold after the 15-year-old Valieva produced an error-filled performance and was left distraught at the end of her free programme. Another Russian, Alexandra Trusova, took silver, and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto won bronze. “The importance of this is so huge that I cannot fully understand it yet,” said Shcherbakova, herself only 17. “Now I feel I am really happy, I showed the best skating at the right moment and right place.” All eyes had been on Valieva, who was in pole position after topping the short programme on Tuesday and had been expected to add the singles title to the team crown she led Russia to before the doping controversy erupted. Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta