Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan withdraws from Grand Prix 5th free skating "Ankle pain worsens"
Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan withdraws from Grand Prix 5th free skating "Ankle pain worsens"
Blog Article
Figure skating men's singles star Cha Jun-hwan (23, Korea University) has given up on participating in the free skating at the 2024-2025 International Skating Union (ISU) Senior Grand Prix 5th Competition Finlandia Trophy due to pain in his right ankle.
Coach Ji Hyun-jung, who is Cha Jun-hwan's coach, said in a phone call with Yonhap News on the 16th, "Cha Jun-hwan had been suffering from ankle pain, and the pain recently got worse after changing boots." She added, "Due to the injury, he did not have satisfactory results in the short program, so we decided that it would be better for him to focus on taking care of his body and recovering rather than forcing himself to compete in the free skating."
He continued, "This decision was made to achieve good results in the remaining international competitions this season," adding, "We plan to focus on preparing for the 2025 Harbin Asian Winter Games, the ISU Four Continents Championships, and the ISU World Championships."
Cha Jun-hwan suffered a nerve injury in his right ankle in October last year.
At that time, he gave up on participating in the remaining Senior Grand Prix competitions and participated in the national team trials with a lowered program difficulty.
He devoted himself to off-season injury management, but never fully recovered from his ankle pain.
Recently, the pain has gotten worse when changing boots.
Cha Jun-hwan competed in the short program at the 5th Grand Prix held in Helsinki, Finland on the 15th with pain and performed poorly.
She fell while performing her first jump, quadruple salchow, and ended up in 7th place with a low score of 77.33 points, including 38.48 points for the technical score (TES), 39.85 points for the artistic score (PCS), and 1 point deduction.
Accordingly, Cha Jun-hwan decided to give up on participating in the free skating and focus on managing his injury.
Cha Jun-hwan, who failed to complete the competition, unfortunately missed out on advancing to the Grand Prix Final.
The Grand Prix Final is a king of kings competition where the top six 파워볼 players compete based on the combined individual scores of the Grand Prix series.
Cha Jun-hwan won a bronze medal in the last 3rd competition, earning 11 ranking points.
Cha Jun-hwan, who skipped the Grand Prix Final, plans to focus on treatment and recovery after returning to Korea.
In addition, he is determined to focus on preparing for the Harbin Winter Asian Games, which will open in Harbin, China on February 7th next year, the Four Continents Championships, which will be held in Seoul from February 19th to 23rd, and the World Championships, which will be held in Boston, USA in March next year.
Coach Ji Hyun-jung said, "If she receives treatment well, she will be able to compete normally in future competitions."