Olympic champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong lit up the ice at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China in Chongqing on the Chinese mainland, marking their first public showdown since coming out of retirement. The duo claimed third place in the pairs short program with a score of 72.45, thanks to a standout presentation mark of 8.57. 🥉⛸️
Georgia's reigning world junior champions, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, soared to first with a fresh personal best of 77.77 points, while European runners-up Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy scored 73.41, just edging out Sui and Han.
'We had no more than a month to get together and prepare for the new program,' admitted Sui after a fall on their opening triple toe loop, which cost them one point. Skating to the fiery Habanera aria from Bizet’s Carmen, the Olympic gold medalists remain optimistic. 'We are happy with our performance,' Sui added. 'Next we’ll focus on tuning up to competition rhythm and keeping a cool head.'
Han chimed in: 'Back to the rink after three years away, we love figure skating and are honored to represent our country.' 🇨🇳
In the men's short program, Japan’s Shun Sato nailed a season-best 94.13 points, landing a quad Lutz, quad toe-loop–triple toe combination and a triple Axel. Italy’s Daniel Grassl (90.42) and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov (88.33) followed. Local favorite Jin Boyang was fifth with 86.62, while Peng Zhiming and Dai Dawei placed 10th and 12th.
On the women’s side, US world champion Alysa Liu topped the leaderboard at 74.61, delivering a triple flip, double Axel, and a triple Lutz–triple loop combo. Japan’s Rinka Watanabe launched a triple Axel and scored 73.01, landing second by just 0.60 points. Defending champion Amber Glenn rounded out the podium with 73.04.
China’s own Zhu Yi was eighth (63.39), and teen Zhang Ruiyang claimed 10th (61.71) after grabbing an Olympic berth for the team last month.
The US duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates led the ice dance rhythm dance with 84.44 points, ahead of Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik. Three home pairs occupied the bottom spots, with comeback Olympians Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu in 8th (62.68), followed by Ren Junfei & Xing Jianing, and Xiao Zixi & He Linghao.
With fierce competition and fresh showdowns, the Cup of China is off to a thrilling start! Stay tuned for more action. 🎉
Reference(s):
Olympic champions Sui & Han shine at Cup of China in comeback show
cgtn.com
