Uno Shoma cracks 100-point mark to lead NHK Trophy after short program

The low roar of the crowd as the scores came up on the big screens said it all.

Japan's Uno Shoma leads after the men's short program at NHK Trophy, being held in Tokyo, after a stunning routine that saw the 23-year-old surpass the 100-point mark for only the second time since the current grading system was put in place in 2018.

It leaves the home skater well placed to take a first figure skating Grand Prix win since he was triumphant at this very event in 2018, sitting more than three points clear of second-placed Vincent Zhou of the United States.

South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan, who struggled in the free skate last weekend at the Gran Premio d'Italia, sits third. The NHK Trophy is the fourth stop on the Grand Prix Series this season ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, and with potential Olympic selection at stake, Russia's Makar Ignatov put himself in with a strong shout of making the ROC Olympic team with a strong personal best to place fourth.

The scary thing about Uno's mesmerising skate was that it was not perfect, with the Stéphane Lambiel-coached skater doubling a planned triple toe loop as part of his jump combination.

Despite that, strong judges' Grades of Execution on all three of his jumping elements – a quad flip; the quad toe, double toe combination; and his triple Axel – saw him come within two points of his existing personal best, scoring an impressive 102.58 points.

However, Uno said he was disappointed at the popped jump. "The triple (toeloop) became a double and that shouldn’t be happening," he reflected.

"It’s going to be a long season at this rate. I have to be locked in, sharpen up mentally.

"Looking back on this short program it might not be a bad performance but I’m not completely satisfied. What I want to do is become a better skater more than anything.

"Of course I want to score high, place high and win competitions but right now I want to improve more than anything. I need to get better to join the world’s elites and I can’t be afraid to make mistakes. I have to keep challenging."

Quarter under-rotations cost Zhou

Zhou, who surprised national teammate Nathan Chen to win Skate America earlier this season, will be rueing two jumping errors that could've seen him match Uno's score and break his own personal best.

The American landed both his quadruple Salchow and triple Axel a quarter of a turn under-rotated, after having opened his skate with a sublime quad Lutz, triple toe combination.

That combination clearly wowed both the crowd and the judges, who awarded Zhou a Grade of Execution of 3.61 for that jump.

But the two quarter under-rotations left the 21-year-old on 99.51 points, exactly a point short of his personal best from the 2019 World Team Trophy.

"After Skate America I definitely noticed that there is more pressure, more expectations coming into this competition," Zhou admitted. "But I think I managed to stay in my own zone pretty well, in my own bubble - both figuratively and literally."

On his routine, the American acknowledged that he could've skated a cleaner program.

"I felt a little bit shaky. My legs were a little bit nervous. I definitely understand why I didn’t reach 100 points but overall I’m happy with my performance. It is a good score to move on for tomorrow."

Cha bounces back; Ignatov makes statement

There was no time for Cha to dwell on his Gran Premio d'Italia free skate last Saturday in Turin, where he fell out of the podium places after an error-strewn routine.

Indeed, on Friday he skated like that nightmare in Italy had never happened, landing all three of his jumping elements cleanly including an impressive quadruple Salchow.

He can probably feel a little aggrieved that his score of 95.92 points wasn't closer to Zhou's, having received a better program components score for his artistry and skating, but Zhou's big combination made the difference.

"Hard work (went into this) and actually before meeting Brian in Italy last week I had to train alone because of Covid but I tried my best," Cha explained. "After coming to Japan I worked on my condition and rhythm again. I think I did what I could today."

As for Ignatov, there is little doubt that he is truly in the conversation for one of the three ROC men's spots at Beijing 2022.

With only one apparent certainty so far – Mikhail Kolyada – the identity of the other two men is still in the air, with Ignatov among a pack of four of five men who are in contention.

His skate was clean, and he has the technical ability – landing a quad loop; quad toe, triple toe combination; and a triple Axel today – but needs to work on the overall presentation of his program to help his Program Component Scores up.