Moscow (AFP) – Japan’s two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu overcame an injury to his right ankle to win the men’s title at the Rostelecom Cup on Saturday.
The 23-year-old two-time world champion secured his second-straight Grand Prix title this season, after winning in Helsinki, and stamped his ticket for the Grand Prix series Finals in Vancouver next month.
Hanyu went into the free programme with a 20-point lead after setting a world record in Friday’s short programme, but his preparations were cut short when he fell during an official practice session.
He left the rink with ice packed around his right ankle. Last year an injury to the same ankle caused him to miss the Grand Prix Final.
However, he returned to the ice for the competition, making a number of errors during his “Art on Ice” by Edvin Marton free routine.
However, the Sochi and Pyeongchang Olympic champion did enough to collect 167.89 points, to give him 278.42 overall.
“I twisted my foot this morning and it really hurts,” Hanyu told Olympic Channel.
“(It) wasn’t as bad as last year. This injury made me change my programme and sadly I couldn’t perform the way I wanted. I could have done better.”
Hanyu finished almost 30 points clear of Morisi Kvitelashvili whose almost flawless presentation of his “Mozart L’Opera Rock” free programme was good enough to secure the first every ISU Grand Prix podium for a Georgian.
Another Japanese skater Kazuki Tomono, fourth after the short programme, climbed to third overall with a 238.73-point total.
Ice dancers, pairs and women will compete later Saturday.
The top six qualifiers in each discipline will compete in the Grand Prix series Finals in Vancouver, Canada, on December 6 to 9.
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