Asiad Figure Skating Champion Cha Jun-hwan Secures Silver at Four Continents in Seoul

Seoul: The reigning Asian Winter Games champion Cha Jun-hwan captured a hard-earned silver medal at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships held in Seoul. On Saturday, Cha executed a commendable performance, scoring 185.78 points in the men's singles free skate at Mokdong Ice Rink, culminating in a total of 265.02 points. He finished second behind Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, who secured the gold with 285.10 points.According to Yonhap News Agency, Cha had initially been in fourth place following Thursday's short program, achieving 79.24 points. However, he delivered the second-highest score in the free skate, propelling him to a silver medal finish. This marks Cha's third medal at the Four Continents, an event open to non-European skaters, adding to his 2022 title and 2023 bronze.Just nine days prior, Cha clinched the gold medal at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, becoming the first South Korean male figure skater to achieve this feat. Despite dealing with a persistent right ankle inju ry throughout the season, Cha managed to perform well, although he under-rotated a planned quadruple toe loop, which resulted in a double toe loop, costing him nearly 10 points.Nevertheless, Cha executed his remaining jump elements cleanly, including a triple lutz-triple loop combination and a triple flip. With the world championships scheduled for March 25-30 in Boston, Cha will focus on preparation and recovery."Because of physical exhaustion, it wasn't easy to put on a good performance, but I think I had a strong finish," Cha shared at his press conference. "I will have some time before the world championships, and I will focus on recovering for that event." He attributed his jump mistakes to fatigue, adding, "I wasn't 100 percent healthy, but I really wanted to do well because I was skating in front of home fans."Cha's performance at the upcoming world championships will be crucial in determining the number of quota places for South Korea at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. He is contemplating add ing another quadruple jump to his free skate program to enhance his scoring potential, despite the risks associated with his recent injury."Because quota places are at stake at this year's world championships, I will have to think long and hard about (adding a new quadruple jump)," he stated. "I will see how my ankle feels before making that decision."