Cup of China 2014 - Men's Short Programme

There are rare occasions in figure skating when a champion is the not the most celebrated skater in his own country. This is bound to be one of them, as the crowd in Shanghai will surely be torn between rooting for last year's winner, Han Yan, and the one skater everyone in the world adores: Yuzuru Hanyu. But before we get to them, there's plenty of other potential future champions to keep an eye on.

A fine start from Yuhang Guan, who skates on Bon Voyage and Conquest of Paradise. This is his first important senior competition and it's a flawless performance. He doesn't even try to jump the triple Axel though, just a double, which will hurt him technically. His score: 63.69.

Richard Dornbush is slightly under-graded by the judges
Photograph: Feng Li/Getty Images Asia

Yi Wang's formal uniform fits his waltz theme perfectly. His low spins need a bit more practice, but he is quite flexible and has no problems with the high ones. Technically though, he's not as strong as Guan and falls on the triple Axel after only jumping a double Toeloop. He gets 57.29 points.

I was expecting more from Alexei Bychenko than from the two Chinese, and he hasn't let me down. This is a flawless rendition of La Traviata. My only tiny problem is his costume - it could be more specific rather than all over the place. His score: 76.96.

Keiji Tanaka's performance is every bit as chaotic as the orchestration of his Instinct Rhapsody song. The only element that he lands perfectly is the triple Flip. With so many mistakes, it's hard to follow his presentation, but I do believe he is significantly better in this area. He gets 56.82 points.

Jin Seo Kim captures my attention from the very start with his bizarre musical choices (i.e. Green Onion). He maintains it though because of his incredibly deep knee bent on the jumps. His score: 62.46.

If Misha Ge feels nerves or pressure, it doesn't show, not even for a second. His is the most artistical skate we've seen so far and the music, Ave Maria, is breathtaking. He can also boast with creating his own choreography. He gets 69.46 points.

After astonishing us in Skate America, Nam Nguyen is determined to make a mark in China as well. He has plenty of charisma, but his spins are a bit rigid. He skates on Sinnerman by Nina Simone. His score: 72.85.

Maxim Kovtun exceeds expectations
Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images Asia

I've complained in the past about Han Yan's lack of expression, so I'm glad he's found a way to convey emotions through his body language. If I Were a Rich Man can be quite a hilarious programme if he keeps working on it. The big problem here is the technical - both his triple Axel and quad Toeloop are double-footed. He gets 79.21 points.

Richard Dornbush has a more difficult task on his hands than Yan. He has to use his body language to portray an entire culture as he skates to Sons of Italy. He does it very well though and with much better elements than the Chinese. His score: 77.23. He deserves more.

Maxim Kovtun's Bolero is good, but to me it doesn't stand out from all his other routines. He's always wearing black, he's always uptight, he's often doing classical music with an edge. I have to admit he's terrific technically though. Only mistake here is a double-footed landing on the double Axel. He gets 85.96.

Yuzuru Hanyu's strength lies in his fragility, but that he can interpret delicate music doesn't mean he doesn't need some fierceness in his approach to the elements. That doesn't happen today and he misses both the quad and the combination. His score: 82.95.

Surprise, surprise, Maxim Kovtun skates better than both the crowd's favourites and plants himself on first place. Yuzuru Hanyu comes second, but close enough to still hope for the gold, while Han Yan is on third and I'm afraid a bit out of range for reclaiming his title. Nothing is impossible though.