Grand debut! Lipnitskaia takes Cup of China short
Russian phenom squeaks by Japan's Mao Asada for lead in ladies short program
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| World junior champion Julia Lipnitskaia proved to be a major threat on the senior level. (Getty Images) |
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Skating to "Sabre Dance," Lipnitskaia hit a triple Lutz-triple toe combination, a triple flip, double Axel and Level 4 spins. The world junior champion amassed 63.06 points in her short.
"Today, I liked everything in my program. I did everything I wanted to do and now I am a little unexpected in first place," the 14-year-old said. "My goal is to be in the top three here so I have a chance to qualify for the Grand Prix Final."
Performing to "I Got Rhythm" by George Gershwin, Asada completed a double Axel, triple loop and her spins, and the footwork garnered a Level 4. However, the Olympic silver medalist under-rotated the triple flip and was edged out for first place by less than one point at 62.89 points.
"This is my first competition of the season, and I was nervous," the two-time world champion said. "But it was good, I performed like in practice."
Nagasu produced a double Axel, triple loop and strong spins, but under-rotated the back end of her triple toe-triple toe combination to score 59.67 points.
"I'm happy that I improved on Finlandia Trophy, where I fell on my toe-toe, and this time I only put my foot down," Nagasu said. "That's a big improvement, and my points were lot higher."
Kiira Korpi of Finland finished fourth, while China's Zijun Li placed fifth. Canadian Amélie Lacoste settled into sixth place.