NHK Trophy 2014 - Men's First Day
Last time we saw Yuzuru Hanyu, he got our attention for all the wrong reasons. Let's hope this time skating in his home country helps him get over the nasty incident in China, because if it doesn't, his own countryman, Takahito Mura, will hurry to snatch the lead from him.
Jeremy Ten's start of the competition is not pristine. He struggles with the triple Axel and falls on the triple Flip. His score: 65.81.
From the hairdo to the name, Daisuke Murakami is a look-alike of his more famous countryman, Daisuke Takahashi. His style though is not as well defined as Takahashi's, but he is perfect technically, and his future looks good. He gets 79.68 points.
Whenever Ivan Righini skates, we have a show on our hands. His Michael Jackson routine always gets the crowd going and rightly so. On a technical level though, he has a hand down on the triple Axel and one of the spins. His score: 70.27.
Elladj Balde had to withdraw from his previous competition, but he is back in shape in Osaka. He lands the second quad of the night and all together delivers a very enjoyable routine. He gets 67.50 points.
Jin Seo Kim does good, but hardly impressive on tunes by John Barry and Booker. He has a very interesting jump technique, getting extremely low on the landings. His score: 65.69.
Ross Miner's choreography might not do him any favours - he does the step sequence before the jumps - because by the time he gets to the planned quad, he can only jump a double. He also steps out of the triple Axel and puts a hand down on the Lutz. He gets 63.36 points.
The change in rules is bringing more contemporary music on the ice as Joshua Farris's Give Me Love proves. Unfortunately, as refreshing as that is, his technical is rubbish today. He falls twice, once during a transition, steps out of the triple Toeloop and singles the triple Axel. Amazing spin positions though. His score: 58.35.
Jeremy Abbott is finally showing the full potential of his beautiful Lay Me Down routine. He plays it safe, holding the quads back, but he is so good it doesn't really matter for now. He gets 81.51 points.
Not as good as before, but still mighty strong, Sergei Voronov has a hand down on the double-footed triple Axel. His score: 78.93.
Takahito Mura has no pressure issues as he brings his best game on ice today. I decided I love the costume, even though it is slightly beyond the point, but I think he should communicate better with the audience. He gets 86.28 points.
Yuzuru Hanyu hasn't fully recovered from the mishap in Shanghai. He's already said he has problems with his legs, and it shows here as he falls on the quad, messes up the triple Lutz and singles the triple Toeloop. His score: 78.01.
It looks like we either underestimated the accident at Cup of China or overestimated Yuzuru Hanyu's ability to recover from it. Either way, he finishes the short in fifth place here, but as some of you have pointed out, what really matters is that he gets healthy. That being said, Takahito Mura is leading, followed by Jeremy Abbott and Daisuke Murakami on third place.
Jeremy Ten's start of the competition is not pristine. He struggles with the triple Axel and falls on the triple Flip. His score: 65.81.
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| South Korea's Jim Seo Kim Photograph: Kevin Lee/Getty Images Asia |
From the hairdo to the name, Daisuke Murakami is a look-alike of his more famous countryman, Daisuke Takahashi. His style though is not as well defined as Takahashi's, but he is perfect technically, and his future looks good. He gets 79.68 points.
Whenever Ivan Righini skates, we have a show on our hands. His Michael Jackson routine always gets the crowd going and rightly so. On a technical level though, he has a hand down on the triple Axel and one of the spins. His score: 70.27.
Elladj Balde had to withdraw from his previous competition, but he is back in shape in Osaka. He lands the second quad of the night and all together delivers a very enjoyable routine. He gets 67.50 points.
Jin Seo Kim does good, but hardly impressive on tunes by John Barry and Booker. He has a very interesting jump technique, getting extremely low on the landings. His score: 65.69.
Ross Miner's choreography might not do him any favours - he does the step sequence before the jumps - because by the time he gets to the planned quad, he can only jump a double. He also steps out of the triple Axel and puts a hand down on the Lutz. He gets 63.36 points.
The change in rules is bringing more contemporary music on the ice as Joshua Farris's Give Me Love proves. Unfortunately, as refreshing as that is, his technical is rubbish today. He falls twice, once during a transition, steps out of the triple Toeloop and singles the triple Axel. Amazing spin positions though. His score: 58.35.
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| Jeremy Abbott shows us he's not to be understimated Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America |
Not as good as before, but still mighty strong, Sergei Voronov has a hand down on the double-footed triple Axel. His score: 78.93.
Takahito Mura has no pressure issues as he brings his best game on ice today. I decided I love the costume, even though it is slightly beyond the point, but I think he should communicate better with the audience. He gets 86.28 points.
Yuzuru Hanyu hasn't fully recovered from the mishap in Shanghai. He's already said he has problems with his legs, and it shows here as he falls on the quad, messes up the triple Lutz and singles the triple Toeloop. His score: 78.01.
It looks like we either underestimated the accident at Cup of China or overestimated Yuzuru Hanyu's ability to recover from it. Either way, he finishes the short in fifth place here, but as some of you have pointed out, what really matters is that he gets healthy. That being said, Takahito Mura is leading, followed by Jeremy Abbott and Daisuke Murakami on third place.
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