Cha wins 7th ISU event
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Cha Jun-hwan
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, 15, won a gold medal in the men’s singles in the seventh event of the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix series held in Dresden, Germany, Saturday.
The victory came a month after he won the third event of the ISU Grand Prix competition in Japan in September. At that time, he broke the world record with 239.49 points.
Cha’s score in the seventh event, however, was 220.54 points. He made a mistake when he attempted a four-rotation quadruple jump. He had only one rotation because of the injuries to his right leg and bad ice quality.
Despite the deduction in the technical performance, he was able to win gold because of bonuses he earned for artistic talent.
Cha said he had no regrets about his performance. “I did my best to pull together the best possible result,” he told reporters after arriving at Incheon International Airport, Sunday. “I would give myself 70 points on a 100-point scale because of the mistakes I had made during the competition.”
He is the first male Korean figure skater to win twice in the ISU Grand Prix series.
According to his management company Galaxia SM, Cha had injuries to a hip joint and both ankles before the ISU competition. He had pains in his right leg but successfully completed his performance, it said.
Cha will compete with five other skaters in the ISU Junior Grand Prix final to be held in December.