“I was aiming for the win, so of course I’m frustrated. In the practices just before this competitions, I couldn’t train as well as I wanted, which made me anxious.” Kaori Sakamoto about winning silver at the Winter Asian Games
Kaori Sakamoto about winning silver at the Winter Asian Games.
original source: Nikkansports dd. Feb 14th 2025 by Honoka Takemoto
Kaori Sakamoto (24), who was in first place after the Short Program, missed out on winning. She placed second in the free skate with a score of 136.87, totaling 211.90 points, resulting in an unexpected silver medal. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on Nikkansports.
With a tense smile, Sakamoto looked up at the audience. “I was aiming for the win, so of course I am frustrated, but I hope this failure will be well-used for the future,” she said. “The success rate in practice was not good, which stayed in my mind,” she added.
“I was able to concentrate well in the first half, so I thought, “Maybe today is the day.” However, I faltered in the second half, which I think is largely due to a lack of physical strength. Losing focus halfway is not good, so I want to focus on training hard for one more month to ensure I can perform without regrets at the World Championships,” Sakamoto told about her performance.
“In the practices just before this competition, I couldn’t train as well as I wanted, which made me anxious. The low success rate in practice stuck in my mind, and I thought that was very detrimental.” She also mentioned that change of skates might also be a reason. “Initially, that was part of it, but the poor condition I’ve been in during practice has been more prominent, so I think that is an area I need to improve.”
“I slightly shook my head, which threw off my axis, so I knew the cause during the performance. Knowing the reason right away helps for the next time, so I try not to take it too negatively but rather think of it as a positive,” she gave some details about a fall on a triple flip.
As for the jump combination, she told “After the NHK Trophy, I changed my routine, and it’s been hit or miss, about fifty-fifty. If I can increase that success rate in practice and gain confidence, I believe I can handle whatever happens in the competition. I aim to practice until I feel “this is okay.”
Related topics: Kaori Sakamoto
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