"What else can I do" - Shoma Uno on why he almost quit figure skating Shoma-ing us what he's made of Up next: Internationaux de France, in Grenoble, set for this coming weekend (19-20 Nov.). Here, five things we learned from the weekend, the fourth of six stops on the Grand Prix. MORE: Sakamoto delivers in pressure moment | Uno aces men's field Her Russian teammates, however, were in fine form as reigning pair skating world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov turned in a 14-point win in the pairs event, while Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov made their season debut at any event (a rarity on the Grand Prix), the dancers showing no signs of Katsalapov's reported back injury as they glided to gold. While Hanyu, Kihira and Trusova all withdrew from the event prior to it starting, Russia's Daria Usacheva had a dramatic exit prior to the women's short program, falling in the warm-up and needing to be carried from rinkside. While Uno bolstered his Grand Prix Final chances by adding to his Skate America silver medal, so too did Olympic teammate and compatriot Sakamoto Kaori, who won her first full-fledged international Grand Prix (she won a mostly domestic NHK Trophy last year) behind two steely and stirring programs. I’m competitive again and I want to aim higher and higher."
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I won’t get carried away by this win or my recent performances. I know I worried a lot of people and I just want to thank them for their support.
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"I feel like here at the NHK Trophy I’m finally back among the world’s top skaters. "The last few years I haven’t been able to reach the podium," Uno said after his win. It marks a special moment for the 23-year-old Uno, who nearly walked away from the sport two years ago after an eighth-place finish at the French Grand Prix. Perhaps no story more than that of Uno Shoma and his convincing 30-point win in the men's singles, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic silver medallist's first Grand Prix gold since this same event in 2018 and sixth in his career. There was no Hanyu Yuzuru, Kihira Rika or Alexandra Trusova as originally planned this past weekend (12-13 November) at NHK Trophy in Tokyo, the fourth of six stops on the International Skating Union's (ISU) Grand Prix Series, but high-quality, mid-season type of figure skating and delightful home triumphs won over fans at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium - and those watching from around the world.