Shoma Uno retains All-Japan Figure Skating Championships title

Shuma Uno won his sixth men's single title at the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships with a total score of 298.04 on Saturday, which also secured him a berth at the upcoming World Championships due to take place in Montreal next March.

Uno now ties with double Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who retired from competitions last year, on the number of national titles, but is still four short of Nobuo Sato's all-time record of 10.

Beijing 2022 Olympic silver medallist Yuma Kagiyama finished with 292.10, followed by Sota Yamamoto with 287.00. Both will need to wait till the tournament is finished before the Japan Skating Federation announces the roster for the World Championships.

"To win this six times in a sport where the names and faces are constantly changing is nothing short of gratifying. In all the times I've competed, I can't recall it ever being so tight,” said Uno, whose lead in the short program spared him from being surpassed when Kagiyama finished almost five points ahead of him in the free skate.

Looking ahead to the Montreal fixture, defending champion Uno knows well that he is in a fierce competition with both fellow Japanese skaters and an early title favorite of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, Ilia Malinin of the U.S., who beat Uno to win the Grand Prix Final title earlier this month in Beijing as he delivered a clean finish of the quad Axel in the short program.

"If I play it safe I'll only manage second or third. But to beat Ilia, I will have to have a proper plan in place and prepare beyond well," said Uno who rounded off his sixth national title at Nagona Big Hat with a total of six quad jumps.

The women's free skate continues on Sunday, with double world champion Kaori Sakamoto dominating the tally with a flawless performance in the short program on Friday.