Kim Chae-yeon ranks 2nd in short program in women’s figure skating at Winter Asiad

South Korean figure skater Kim Chae-yeon posted her personal best score to rank second in the short program at the Asian Winter Games in China on Wednesday.

Making her Asiad debut at age 18, Kim earned 71.88 points to put herself behind Kaori Sakamoto of Japan (75.03) at Heilongjiang Ice Events Training Center Multifunctional Hall in Harbin.

Kim’s previous personal high had been 71.39 points, set at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in February 2023.

Sakamoto, a three-time world champion and the 2022 Olympic bronze medalist, and Kim, the 2024 world bronze medalist, were the only two skaters to score over 70 points Wednesday. Hana Yoshida of Japan ranked third with 68.76 points.

The free skate is Thursday.

Kim was the second skater out of 25 to take the ice. Performing to music from the soundtrack for the film “Tron: Legacy,” Kim started her program with a clean double axel. She then executed a strong triple lutz-triple toe loop combination.

Kim followed that up with a flying change-foot spin and cleanly landed her final jump element, triple flip.

Kim said afterward she had been jittery before her first Asian Games skate and added, “Considering how nervous I was, the result wasn’t so bad.”

“I am just thankful for the opportunity to experience such a big competition,” she added. “I will try to stay in good form and have a good free skate tomorrow.”

Kim said she had received some advice from two former stars, the 2010 Olympic champion Kim Yu-na and the 2017 Asian Games gold medalist Choi Da-bin.

“They told me to just focus on my program and not get too nervous,” Kim said. “They said I should try to enjoy the moment, and I think I was able to perform well today thanks to their advice.”

Kim Seo-young, the one other South Korean in the field who skated immediately after Kim Chae-yeon, scored 51.23 points to rank seventh.