Japan's Onda captures NHK Trophy

KYOTO, Japan (AP) -- Japan's Yoshie Onda upstaged world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia Saturday to win the gold medal at the NHK Trophy, the sixth and final leg of the International Skating Union's Grand Prix series.

Onda, who led after Friday's short program, fell on her opening triple axel but was near-faultless the rest of the way to become the first Japanese woman to win the NHK Trophy since Midori Ito won in 1991.

"I had trouble with the triple in practice," said Onda. "But I was determined to try it tonight and didn't worry about not pulling it off."

Skating to Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Serenade, Onda thrilled the capacity crowd at Aqua Arena with a stirring performance that included a triple lutz-double toe loop combination.

She received marks ranging from 5.5 to 5.9 for technical merit and 5.3 to 5.8 for presentation. Onda closed out her routine with a combination spin and pumped her fist in the air in a rare sign of emotion.

"It wasn't because I thought I won," said Onda. "I was just so excited and happy that I was able to skate the way I wanted."

Slutskaya, who won the silver, looked hesitant and touched down on her second element, a triple loop. She received marks of 5.4 to 5.7 for technical merit and 5.4 to 5.8 for presentation.

Japan's Shizuka Arakawa won the bronze while Amber Corwin of the United States finished eighth.

The top six finishers from all six Grand Prix events will compete in the final in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the beginning of March, three weeks before the world championships in Washington, D.C.

With the nine points she earned here, Slutskaya will qualify along with Fumie Suguri and Arakawa. Onda, who won the Bofrost Cup on Ice in November, had already qualified.

It was a disappointing day for Suguri. After finishing third in the short program, the world bronze medalist failed to execute a triple toe-double toe early in her routine and finished fourth.

Earlier, Japan's Takeshi Honda finished first in the men's short program.

Honda, coming off a victory at Skate Canada, received marks from 5.6 to 5.9 for required elements and 5.7 to 5.9 for presentation. He opted for a double toe instead of a triple toe in his opening quadruple toe-triple toe combination because he was too close to the boards.

"The footwork and the spins were the best yet," said Honda. "I hurt my back in practice so I couldn't jump but it's starting to feel better."

Honda, who is the clear favorite here, went on to nail a triple axel and a triple lutz before closing with impressive step sequences to the Spanish-style Leyenda.

"I was pleased with today's skate," said Honda, the world bronze medalist. "It's been a while since I skated in Japan and I want to show the home fans the improvement I've made since the world championships."

Russia's Ilia Klimkin was second after the men's short program while China's Chengliang Li was third heading into Sunday's final.

In the ice dancing final, world champions Irina Lobacheva and Ilia Averbukh won the gold medal despite having to stop their routine midway through when a part of Lobacheva's dress fell to the ice.

Skating to a rock 'n' roll medley, the Russian pair received marks ranging from 5.5 to 5.8 for technical merit and 5.8 to 6.0 for presentation. "It was a bit difficult to have to stop during our routine," said Averbukh. "Maybe that's why some of the first scores were a little low."

Germans Kati Winkler and Rene Lohse won the silver while Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski took the bronze.

 

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