By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Figure skating phenomenon Kim Yu-na has decided to train in South Korea for the upcoming World Championships.
``Coach Brian Orser will come to Korea in the middle of next week,'' said IB Sports, Kim's agency.
``After training here with him, Kim will fly to the championships.''
The annual world figure skating event will be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, from March 17-23.
Going back to Canada ― where Kim usually trains ― three weeks prior to the championships would require time to overcome jet lag and get her second wind, so she's decided to train in Korea.
Since last year, the 17-year-old has practiced in Toronto under Orser, an Olympic silver medallist.
Kim, the two-time defending Grand Prix Final champion, had a hip injury late last month and returned home to Korea for treatment on Feb. 11.
Eying the World Championships, where she won a bronze medal last year in Tokyo behind Japan's Miki Ando and Mao Asada, Kim has been concentrating on rehabilitation programs and ice drills for six or seven hours a day. She plans to continue training at the Lotte World ice rink in Seoul, while increasing the time she spends in her practices.
``Using the ice rink at the Korea Sports Center at Taeneung is another option, but due to the distance, she chose the rink located in Jamsil, southern Seoul,'' the agency said.
``Her doctor OK'ed her extending time on exercise.''
Meanwhile, Kim's rival Asada parted with her American coach Rafael Arutunian, who had trained her since 2006.
According to Japanese media, the 17-year-old Asada, who topped the Four Continents Championships in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, two weeks ago, ended her tutelage with the coach, who also taught five-time world champion Michelle Kwan of the United States, and moved her training camp from America to Nagoya, Japan.
As a result, Asada, a former Grand Prix Final champion, will compete in Sweden without a coach.