Russia's Figure Skating Association has said it will no longer pay for 16-year-old skater Yulia Antipova's treatment in Israel for anorexia, news reports said Tuesday.
Antipova was diagnosed with the eating disorder this summer. At one point she weighed only 25 kilograms, but has since gained a little weight at an Israeli clinic, the Sovetsky Sport newspaper reported Tuesday. According to her father, she is still in a fragile state and needs to undergo rehabilitation.
In an interview with the newspaper, the director of the skating federation said that it had already contributed twice as much toward her treatment as it had initially agreed.
"We have fulfilled our promises and are unable to continue our financial support," Alexander Kogan said.
Kogan said Antipova could continue her treatment and rehabilitation in Russia for free. Previous treatment in Russia yielded no results, Sovetsky Sport said, citing her parents.
Antipova's father told the Sports.ru website Tuesday that Israeli doctors believe she will relapse if she doesn't continue her treatment. He thanked the federation for its help, but complained that it had allegedly given the family only three days' notice that it was withdrawing funding.
Antipova ranked eighth with her partner Nodari Maisuradze at the last world figure skating championship in Japan in March.
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