Copyright kyodonews
CHONGQING, China - Japan's Shun Sato cruised to victory at the Cup of China in figure skating on Saturday, earning his second ISU Grand Prix title after winning the free skate to maintain his lead from the short program. The 21-year-old continued his faultless performance in Chongqing, landing his opening quadruple lutz before adding two quad toe loops, one of them in a combination, to score 183.99 to tally 278.12 in total at the second event of this season's series. Italy's Daniel Grassl placed second in both segments to finish runner-up with 269.43 points, while Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov was third on both days to finish third overall with 262.67. "I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to win," said Sato, who is recovering from a right ankle injury. "There was anxiety in heading into the Cup of China while not hitting my form, but the support from everyone helped me overcome. I'm really feeling happy." Japan's Sota Yamamoto had a forgettable free skate to finish ninth overall on 211.67. In the women's event, Japan's Rinka Watanabe finished third after she settled for 124.62 in the free skate for a total of 198.63. Amber Glenn scored 141.74 in the free skate for a total of 214.78 to take the title, overtaking her American compatriot and world champion Alysa Liu, who was unable to hold her short program lead and finished second on 212.07. "I'm relieved to have made the podium," said Watanabe, who fell on her opening triple combination and also under-rotated her other jumps later on, but secured a podium finish by finishing 0.75 ahead of Georgia's Anastasiia Gubanova in fourth.
