Japan's 10 skaters took to the ice for the official practice on Wednesday, December 6 in Beijing, before the start of the Grand Prix Final on Thursday at the National Indoor Stadium.
The Hinomaru's four singles world champions from the 2022-23 season, Shoma Uno, Kaori Sakamoto, Mao Shimada, and Kao Miura, are all in the Chinese capital to compete.
Action will get underway with the junior men's short program on Thursday afternoon. That will be followed by the junior women, senior pairs, senior men, and junior pairs.
Nakata Aiming for Victory at Grand Prix Final
The junior men took the ice for training first on Wednesday morning, December 6. Rio Nakata, Japan's lone representative in the discipline, had a smooth run-through in his short program to "God Particle" and "160Bpm."
"Of course, my goal is to win the final, but I just have to believe in myself," the 15-year-old Nakata was quoted as saying. "Even if I fail, I have done my best."
Shimada Struggles with Jumps
In the women's competition, world junior champion Shimada, who won the JGP Final in 2022, worked on her free skate to "Americano" and "Composition." She under-rotated her triple axel, fell on her quadruple toe loop, and hit the ice on a triple flip as the music played.
"It is a different rink than usual, so I had a little trouble getting used to it, but as I continued to do it, I got used to it, and halfway through I think my jumps were back to normal," Shimada commented.
Added Shimada, "Triple axels are becoming easier to jump than quadruples without issues. My quad toe loop is still not stable, but I think it is more stable than it was at the Japan Junior Championships."
Ami Nakai went through her paces to her short program of "Baby, God Bless You" but did not land her triple flip cleanly.
Rena Uezono, the youngest of Japan's competitors at 13, went through her free skate to "Pray" and "Mechanisms" and started strongly, before not cleanly landing her triple flip and falling on a double axel in the second half of her routine.
Uno Enjoys Fine Training Session
Two-time world champion Uno, who will be defending his title from December 2022, practiced his short program to "I Love You Kung Fu" and "Clair de Lune" and landed all of his jumps smoothly. He seemed perplexed by his skating on this day.
"I am surprised that I have done so well," Uno said after training. "It wasn't that good at all in Japan."
Uno will be looking to put his under-rotations at the NHK Trophy in November in the rearview mirror.
"In my mind, I think my performance at the NHK Trophy was a good performance," Uno stated. "I want to continue to perform the same way in the future so that people can see it as something wonderful."
Beijing Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama skated to his free program of "Rain, in Your Black Eyes" and was solid, landing both of his quads and all of his triples except his second triple axel.
"It's really fun to practice at a high level like this," Kagiyama remarked. "I feel like I will be able to go into the competition tomorrow with a really good feeling."
Miura Aims for Strong Results
Miura, who is competing in the senior GP Final for the second straight year, trained to the "Attack On Titan" soundtrack and cleanly hit all three of his quads.
After finishing fifth last season, Miura sounded like a man looking for redemption.
"Currently, I'm in a lower position, and I know that I am definitely less capable than everyone else, but I just don't want to be underestimated," Miura declared.
Miura said he was unprepared for the prestigious event 12 months ago.
"Last year, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere at the venue," Miura recalled. "I was feeling weak somewhere. Having such negative feelings was one of the reasons for my failure."
Sakamoto Tumbles on Triple Flip
Two-time world titlist Sakamoto ran through her short program to "Gladiator" and fell on her triple flip. The song is the same one she used in the Beijing Olympics on the way to the bronze medal.
"I was too excited today and I felt like I rushed things too far from the start," Sakamoto remarked.
She added, "I hope I can calm down from tomorrow."
Hana Yoshida skated to her free program of "Shakuhachi" and "La Terre Vue Due Ciel" and had a flawless performance.
Rion Sumiyoshi also worked on her free skate to "Enchantress" and fell on her quad toe loop and could not land her final triple flip cleanly.
"The rink is very large, so it was very impressive," Sumiyoshi commented. "It was also very slippery. I hope to keep improving and perform well."
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Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.
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