The gasps of despair that greeted Sui Wenjing’s fall following a mistimed landing in the side-by-side triple Salchows turned into cheers of joy as she and fellow Chinese Han Cong won the pairs title at the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships on Thursday.
Sui and Han did not let the crash landing derail their gold medal hopes as they capped a year of pain and injury by finally ending their quest for the world title.
The duo sat out the start of the season as Sui recovered from surgery on her right ankle and left foot.
The break seems to have rejuvenated their fortunes, because they finally got their hands on the gold medal with a personal best total of 232.06 points.
Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot went up a level on the podium from 12 months ago to claim silver with 230.30.
Evgeniya Tarasova, who needed 10 stitches before Wednesday’s short program after her partner’s skate sliced her leg during practice, and Vladimir Morozov ended Russia’s two-year barren run in the event by taking bronze.
Sui credited her time out this season for the Chinese duo’s recent run of good form.
Since their comeback last month the pair have enjoyed 100 percent success, having also won the Four Continents title.
“After the surgery something changed in me, as I started to enjoy performing more and more,” said Sui, who went on the ice knowing she had to overhaul a target of 149.07.
Her newfound joie de vivre helped Sui to immediately forget about her crash landing, which happened less than a minute into their free skate, and she floated through the rest of a free skate that included a quad twist lift.
When the final strains of Paul Simon’s Bridge Over Troubled Water died out, Han closed his eyes and held his partner in a tight embrace.
Savchenko, who won five world titles with former partner Robin Szolkowy, thought she had a fighting chance of grabbing the top prize after completing a solid, if not flawless, free skate.
Although her dreams were dashed, Massot was celebrating his best ever finish at the worlds.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to