Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

FIGURE SKATING

Asada off to slow start at NHK Trophy

Sports Oct. 23, 2010 - 05:59AM JST ( 11 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

11 Comments

0

LunchboxOct. 23, 2010 - 07:39AM JST

Kanako Murakami

We are going to be hearing that name a lot in the next 10 years, that girl is very marketable, the Japanese will love her. And what does she do on her debut? She scores higher than Mao in the short program! Where can I buy her stocks?
0

isthistheendOct. 23, 2010 - 08:20AM JST

Excuse me Ms. Asada. Weren't you going to beat Kim Yu Na's top Olympic History mark? Goes to show you how competitive/fickle the world of sports can be. One day high on adrenaline you can dream of the moon, next day, a hit of reality and your fighting just to make the top 3.
0

LoveUSAOct. 23, 2010 - 09:19AM JST

Mao started working with the new coach just lst month. Maybe she wasn't training until then. But her 8th place is so low.
0

biculturalOct. 23, 2010 - 10:18AM JST

Like I said, Murakami is the the next Asada.
0

smithinjapanOct. 23, 2010 - 12:51PM JST

"The 20-year-old Asada, who won the silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics, parted ways with Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova after the world championships in March and announced the appointment of Sato last month."

So perhaps it wasn't the coach, but the girl. Hopefully she can improve, but she has always lacked that bit of confidence for the perfect performance.

bicultural: "Like I said, Murakami is the next Asada"

That's not saying much, given Asada's short career near the top, and the way she's performing now. I hope you're not suggesting she'll peak and then flop as fast as so many Japanese trends/stars. I would like to see her continue to excel and easily surpass Asada. It would be a shame in that I'm sure the media would drop the latter like a ton of bricks and she'd be forgotten, but like I said, that's often how things work here.

Great job by Murakami.
0

smithinjapanOct. 23, 2010 - 12:52PM JST

'“Tonight was not perfect,” Asada said.'

Ya think?
0

biculturalOct. 23, 2010 - 02:41PM JST

Asada's short career near the top

5 years is a long time in the world of women's figure skating, and that's how long she's been the best skater in Japan and one of the top 3 in the world. That said, I hope Murakami surpasses Asada.
0

smithinjapanOct. 23, 2010 - 03:22PM JST

bicultural: "5 years is a long time in the world of women's figure skating, and that's how long she's been the best skater in Japan and one of the top 3 in the world."

She's been in the top three in the world for the last five years?? I don't think so, although she's a great little skater. In the past three I'd say, for sure. The problem is that she is only 20 and it looks like she's cracking. I hope not; in fact, I hope to see her go on and continue to do as well as she has. I DO like Murakami better, though, as you clearly do. It would be nice, and great for Japan, if both made excellent performances.
0

EbiChiriOct. 23, 2010 - 10:05PM JST

She's probably unmotivated by the prospect of an "NHK Trophy". Who would want a trophy from those guys ? What is her reward: no NHK fees for one month ? We should be so lucky.
0

SargeOct. 23, 2010 - 10:12PM JST

Without Miki Ando this is going to be a real snoozefest.
0

Bebert61Oct. 24, 2010 - 01:48AM JST

Mao was pretty rough last year at her 1st GP event, too, so this isn't a big deal. The Grand Prix is where skaters shake out the bugs and build up for their nationals and the world event. Plus, in this field, Mao can easily make up the 10 point deficit in her free program.

It is interesting though that Miki Ando is now the consistent skater, whereas Mao now starts off her seasons with new coach and a question mark.