NHK Trophy winners Yuma Kagiyama and Kaori Sakamoto are seen on November 9. (©REUTERS, SANKEI)
Read the full story on SportsLook - [ICE TIME] Yuma Kagiyama and Kaori Sakamoto Lead Japan's Medal Haul at the NHK Trophy
It was another banner weekend for Japan on the Grand Prix circuit as the Hinomaru scooped up five of the six singles medals on offer at the NHK Trophy in Tokyo. An appreciative crowd dished out several standing ovations for their favorite skaters during the course of the competition.
Beijing Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama and Tatsuya Tsuboi took gold and bronze, respectively, in the men's event on Saturday, November 9. Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto led a Japan sweep of the women's competition with Mone Chiba and Yuna Aoki on the same night.
Adding to the take was the pairs team of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who picked up the silver in their discipline to qualify for the GP Final in December in Grenoble, France.
Insights from Kagiyama and Tsuboi After the NHK Trophy
Kagiyama will skate this week in the Finlandia Trophy, where a top-two result will send him to the GP Final. Despite his incredible success at just 21, he still sees himself as a work in progress.
"I think this is a testament to what kind of growth I've been going through," Kagiyama stated after his victory at Yoyogi National Stadium. "The short program was wonderful. For the free skate, I have a lot of takeaways and I want to learn from them so that I could do better in Finland. I know what challenges I must address from now on."
Tsuboi, who earned his first senior GP medal, was pleasantly surprised by his performance in Tokyo.
"I didn't even think that I would end up third," Tsuboi commented. "It was necessary to do everything I could and put my best out there and give it my all. The work I put in, day in, day out paid off. This is my first podium in the senior Grand Prix series, so it's been a great confidence booster."
For Sakamoto, a Berth in the GP Final
Sakamoto clinched a spot in the GP Final with her second victory of the season on November 9. Chiba is well-positioned to join her after taking second place with one more assignment to come at the Cup of China.
Sakamoto scored a season-high 231.88 points in the win, where her maturity on the ice and effervescent personality shone through.
"I wanted the audience and judges to have a smile on their faces and I wanted to enjoy skating myself," Sakamoto noted. "The ending pose was a bit shaky, but I was so happy with my performance that my joy burst out."
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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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.
