Gold medalist Cha Junhwan (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Kagiyama Yuma (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the men single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
HARBIN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan and Kim Chae-yeon took gold in the men's and women's singles events, respectively, at the Asian Winter Games here on Thursday.
Despite leading by nearly 10 points in the short program, Japan's Yuma Kagiyama slipped three times on Thursday, handing the gold medal to Cha, South Korea's national champion, who posted an impressive score of 281.69 points. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov claimed the bronze.
Amid cheers from the home crowd, China's Dai Dawei landed two quadruple jumps to finish fourth with 238.83 points, while his compatriot Chen Yudong ranked seventh with 203.32 points.
"I performed better than I expected. It's a comfort to have skated a relatively clean program today," said Dai. Although he missed the podium by just one spot, he expressed no regrets. "Certainly, every athlete wants to stand on the podium, but I know I still need to improve my skills."
In the women's free skating, 2024 World Figure Skating Championships bronze medallist Kim delivered a near-flawless performance to score 147.56 points. With a total of 219.44 points, she edged out Beijing Winter Olympics bronze medallist Kaori Sakamoto by 7.54 points, after Sakamoto slipped on a triple jump. Hana Yoshida of Japan took home the bronze medal.
"I initially thought just skating through my program would be good enough, but now I realize - I should have won the gold," the 18-year-old Kim said. "At first, I couldn't believe it, but it's slowly sinking in." She added, "Kaori is such a strong competitor. I've always wanted to beat her, but I never expected to do it here at the Winter Asiad."
Reflecting on her performance, Kim noted, "When I finished my free skate, I told myself - finally, I did it!" Although she admitted to feeling more nervous than the day before, she was proud to have delivered a clean performance, particularly in her jump combinations. "The most satisfying part for me at the Harbin Asian Winter Games was landing a triple Salchow in competition for the first time," she added.
China's Zhu Yi and An Xiangyi, who both battled fever and cough, finished fifth and sixth with 168.86 points and 161.71 points, respectively. ■
Gold medalist Cha Junhwan (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Kagiyama Yuma (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the men single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
Gold medalist Cha Junhwan (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Kagiyama Yuma (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the men single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Gold medalist Cha Junhwan (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Kagiyama Yuma (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the men single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
Gold medalist Kim Chaeyeon (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Sakamoto Kaori (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Yoshida Hana (R) of Japan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the women single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
Gold medalist Kim Chaeyeon (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Sakamoto Kaori (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Yoshida Hana of Japan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the women single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
Gold medalist Kim Chaeyeon (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Sakamoto Kaori (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Yoshida Hana of Japan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the women single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
Gold medalist Kim Chaeyeon (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Sakamoto Kaori (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Yoshida Hana of Japan pose for photo at the victory ceremony for the women single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)
Gold medalist Kim Chaeyeon (C) of South Korea, silver medalist Sakamoto Kaori (L) of Japan and bronze medalist Yoshida Hana of Japan pose for photo after the victory ceremony for the women single skating free skating of figure skating event at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
