Asada glides on to win third Grand Prix Title

Mao Asada (Getty Images)

Who's back in the game? MAO ASADA! The lady just put away her NHK disaster and displayed what can only be described as a champion's performance by skating into the lead in both the short and free programme. Skating to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Asada is the first lady this season to break into the 120s by earning a 129.86, and an overall 196.80 points- way clear of USA's Ashley Wagner (181.93) and compatriot Akiko Suzuki (180.77) who won silver and bronze respectively. This marks her return into the circuit and the final since 2009. While the ice at the Sochi arena seemed to have jinxed all the ladies, only a doubling of a planned triple salchow and a possible two-foot on a 2A-3T flawed Asada's otherwise pristine programme. Perhaps it's early days, but it is a good thing that Mao won her title here in Sochi, where the upcoming 2014 Winter Games will be held. Though she has yet to fully compete consistently, her victory in Sochi should help her get in full stride in her campaign to win an Olympic Gold. With the Japanese Nationals, Four Continents and the World Championships looming in the background, Asada's season looks brighter than it has been for a while. Well done girl! 

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Mao-chan won, and this means she's in the Grand Prix Final! This is her first time in two seasons, and the GPF sure has missed her long enough. What a comeback! In any case, I'm going to try and rationalise this all so my emotions won't cloud my opinions on the event this weekend. Yesterday at the short programme, Mao skated just before RUS Alena Leonova, and instead of attempting a triple axel she opted for a double and it was a good call. She skated cleanly landing an additional triple flip-double loop combination and a triple loop, with the only nitpicking flaw being her slow camel spin. She finished with 64.29 with just a slim lead ahead of Leonova. She was spirited and her programme was sensational. It was fun, light and at times alluring with that smile that she has kept on since leaving Tarasova. Being in the lead was the first step into her second chance at winning her first Grand Prix title in three years.

Today at the ladies' free event, everybody brought their A-game. I was already sort of not feeling RUS Adelina Sotnikova because she was also skating to Liebestraume but Mao's was superior. Tarasova's choreography for Adelina was disjointed and the musical arrangement was not good. Maybe Adelina is just too young to skate to a musical piece that is too emotionally mature? Even so, she has not performed as expected this reason, lagging behind her compatriot and rival Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, whose dynamic debut earned her two titles and is currently the favourite to win. She's young though, so she has such a great future ahead of her, and perhaps it was that pressure of being the face of Russian skating that got to her. In a recent interview, Tatiana said that when Mao first looked at skating to Liebestraume, she also offered to create the piece for her. Mao-chan said no, and looking at Adelina's programme, I'm very happy that she did. It's not Tarasova's thing and if Sotnikova's piece is any indication of what could have been Mao's, it would not be as good as it is now with Lori Nichol's touch. Just a thought. Plus, I was not a fan of her Tango SP last season. Scheherazade is beautiful, but in the future I think it would be great for Mao-chan to stop with Tarasova and go with Lori like she did back in the day.