Shun Sato came out on top in an exciting battle in the Men’s Short Program Friday at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China. The Free Skating is shaping up to be another thrilling competition where anything can happen.   

Shun Sato (JPN) leads Men’s Short Program 

In a high-level competition, defending Cup of China Champion Sato took the lead over Italy’s Daniel Grassl while reigning ISU World silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan is not far behind sitting in third. 

Performing to “Ladies in Lavender”, Sato produced a quad Lutz, quad toe-triple toe, triple Axel and strong spins and footwork to score 94.13 points. 

“I was pleased with my performance in the Short Program today,” the Japanese skater said. “During the six-minutes warm-up, my condition was very good and I just continued to perform. 

“I am happy to come back here again. I delivered a very good performance here last year and I won my first Grand Prix event, so I have a lot of good memories from here.”

Shun Sato (JPN) finished first in the Men's Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China in Chongqing © ISU

Grassl went for a quad Lutz-triple toe combination but the Lutz was slightly under-rotated. The 2022 ISU European silver medalist went on to complete a quad loop, triple Axel and difficult spins in his program “Tango per la liberta” to net a season’s best of 90.42 points. 

“I am very happy with how my Short Program went,” Grassl said. “I am always a bit more tight in the Short Program, so it was good to have this kind of performance. 

“I know I can skate better than that, and the first jump wasn’t as good as I can do it in practice, but I feel very motivated for the Free Skating,” the 2024 ISU Grand Prix finalist added.

Daniel Grassl (ITA) recorded a season's best in the Men's Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China in Chongqing © ISU

Top seed Shaidorov skated last and put in another strong performance to “In the Air Tonight” and “Temptation” that featured a quad Lutz-triple toe (under-rotated), a triple Axel and quad toe. The 2025 ISU Four Continents Champion earned 88.33 points.

“Overall it was not bad, but I made a few small mistakes,” Shaidorov said. “I am quite pleased with my performance and the result. Hopefully I’ll skate even better than that tomorrow (in the Free Skating). I had a good preparation and hopefully we’re going to see that in the season.”

Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) finished third in the Men's Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China in Chongqing © ISU

Sota Yamamoto (JPN) is less than a point away from the podium in fourth place at 87.57 points. He landed a quad toe-triple toe combination while the quad Salchow was somewhat wobbly. To the delight of the home crowd, two-time ISU World bronze medalist Boyang Jin (CHN) turned in a clean program that featured a quad toe to finish fifth (86.62 points). Tomoki Hiwatashi (USA) is currently ranked sixth on 79.07 points. 

ISU Grand Prix Cup of China schedule:

Friday, October 24: Rhythm Dance, Women’s, Men’s & Pairs Short Programs
 Saturday, October 25: Free Dance, Women’s, Men’s & Pairs Free Skating
 Sunday, October 26: Exhibition Gala

ISU Grand Prix Standings

Check out who is on their way to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final:

Men                               Women                    Pairs                      Ice Dance

For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.

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