Figure skater Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee competes on February 6 at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo:VCG

 Chinese netizens hailed the news after arbitrators ruled on Monday that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who had failed a drug test in December 2021, will be able to keep flying on the ice at the Olympic Winter Games.

Valieva, a 15-year-old skater of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), stunned many Chinese netizens with her debut on February 6 during the short program for figure skating. Wearing a purple, flowing dress, Valieva landed each of her jumps softly and floated through her program without making even the tiniest of mistakes.

After Valieva completed each move, her teammates cheered for her and at the end of her routine, the applause lasted nearly half a minute, with other athletes giving her a standing ovation.

Since then the young skater has acquired the nickname "K Bao" (lit: baby K), from her first name, among Chinese netizens.

The panel's statement from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said that it "considered fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm and the balance of interests" between Valieva and the organizations seeking to bar her from the Games. 

The statement also noted that Valieva was a minor and did not test positive at the Beijing Games, though she could face penalties when her case is examined after the Olympics.

"I believe in justice and hope Kamila can play her best in the next matches. She looks like a fairy on the ice," a Sina Weibo user commented in a post liked by many other netizens.

Valieva tested positive during the Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg on December 25.

But the results weren't reported by the Swedish laboratory handling the tests until February 8, one day after the ROC team won gold in the team competition in Beijing.

Valieva was immediately given a provisional suspension by Russia's Anti-Doping Agency's (RUSADA), which automatically prohibits athletes from participating in all sports. The figure skater challenged the suspension on Wednesday and, at a hearing that same day, RUSADA canceled the provisional ban.

The International Olympic Committee, International Skating Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency later appealed to CAS the decision by RUSADA to lift the provisional suspension imposed on Valieva.