Kim Yu-na Tops Cup of China

Kim Yu-na competes in the Ladies Free Skating at the Cup of China Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Harbin in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province Saturday.

/ AP-Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

South Korean figure staking sensation Kim Yu-na rallied to win the women's title Saturday at the Cup of China, as she stayed on course for a berth at the Grand Prix final in December in Turin, Italy.

The 17-year-old Kim, who was in third place after the short program, executed most of her moves to near perfection in the free skating, as she edged American Caroline Zhang by more than 24 points to take the gold.

``I was in good condition, and I didn't pressure myself out there and skated with a comfortable mind,'' said Kim, who will head to Moscow for the Cup of Russia, the fifth Grand Prix event of the 2007-08 season that starts on Nov. 22.

``This was my first Grand Prix series event of this season, and I think I was tensed up in the short program,'' she said.

Skating to the tune of ``Miss Saigon,'' Kim opened her routine with a spectacular triple flip-triple toe loop combination and also executed a triple salchow and a double axel-triple toe loop combination, with her only flaw coming from a popped lutz jump.

Kim, currently the world No. 2, set her personal best with 122.36 points in the long program and scored 180.68 overall. Zhang, the current World Junior champion, earned 97.58 points in her free program and finished with a total score of 156.34 points.

European champion Carolina Kostner of Italy, who led the pack after the short program, slipped to third after suffering from a number of jump problems in her free skating performance.

Among the 12 competitors in the women's event, only Kim managed to avoid deductions for her long program.

``I did win the women's event, but the competition also showed the areas I need to improve,'' said Kim, who trains in Canada coached by Brian Orser.

``I received only 56.80 points in the program component score (PCS), which means that I have a lot more work to do to improve in choreography,'' she said.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr

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