Kamila Valieva's coach said she can't understand why Olympic boss Thomas Bach attacked her treatment of the teenage skater

• Kamila Valieva's coach Eteri Tutberidze has hit back at IOC President Thomas Bach.
• Bach called her treatment of the teenager figure skater Kamila Valieva last week "chilling."

Kamila Valieva's coach, Eteri Tutberidze, has responded to criticism from IOC President Thomas Bach over her treatment of the young figure skater, saying she is "at a loss" over his comments about her coaching methods.

Bach hit out at Tutberidze after she was heard heavily criticizing Valieva, 15, following her performance in the women's free skating programme at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Valieva, who tested positive for a banned substance in December but was allowed to continue competing for the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in Beijing, fell multiple times during her routine which resulted in her finishing outside of the medals.

"I must say I was very, very disturbed yesterday when I watched the competition on TV," Bach said on Friday. "When I afterwards saw how she was received by her closest entourage, with such, what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this."

Tutberidze was heard repeatedly asking Valieva why she "stopped fighting" as she left the rink in tears.

"Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance," added Bach.

On Instagram Friday, Tutberidze indirectly responded to Bach's comments by way of a comment on a post supporting her from fellow Russian coach Alex Zhulin.

"I am very grateful for the words of support," she wrote, as translated by Eurosport. "I am still at a loss from the assessment of our work by the esteemed Mr Bach."

As the Games concluded on Sunday, Tutberidze took to her own Instagram to look back on Valieva's time in Beijing.

The teenager starred as the ROC won the figure skating team event, however her games then descended into chaos shortly afterwards when it was revealed that she had tested positive for a banned substance while competing in December.

"Kamila Valieva, Olympic champion in team competitions, our star," Tutberidze wrote of Valieva, as translated by Inside the Games.

"Very fragile and at the same time a very strong athlete."

Tutberidze coached all three of the ROC skaters who competed in the final of the women's singles event, with Anna Shcherbakova winning gold and Alexandra Trusova taking silver.

The duo's medals marked the second consecutive Winter Olympics at which Tutberidze had coached the gold and silver medalists, having also trained Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva at Pyeongchang 2018.

In her Instagram post, Tutberidze described Shcherbakova as an Olympic champion status "for life" and praised Trusova for performing a never-before-seen five quadruple jumps in the free skate.