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Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
SportHong Kong

Hong Kong figure skating champ Joanna So says Asian Open bronze two years after retiring is ‘like a dream’

  • The 22-year-old admits shock after setting personal bests in back-to-back events, as remarkable comeback continues
  • ‘I really look forward to the Hong Kong skating scene going up’, says So, who walked away from sport over academic stress

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Hong Kong figure skater Joanna So at the ISU CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy closing gala in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua
Andrew McNicol
Hong Kong’s star figure skater Joanna So has admitted her “shock” after continuing her remarkable comeback from retirement with a bronze medal at the International Skating Union Challenger Series (ISU CS) Asian Open Trophy 2021 in Beijing last weekend.

The 22-year-old, two-time Asian junior champion scored a personal best of 155.65 points overall to finish on the Capital Indoor Stadium podium on Sunday, behind Mai Mihara (203.58) and Kaori Sakamoto (202.28) of Japan. So also secured a personal best in her short programme.

Announcing her retirement two years ago because of academic stress, So returned to the rink this year to win her second Hong Kong Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating Championships title in July, before competing in her first international event at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany last month.
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“I was kind of shocked to be on the podium at first,” she said. “Everything was so fast – like a dream. I was really happy and so were my family and teammates.

Hong Kong figure skater Joanna So (right) with her bronze deal alongside silver medallist Kaori Sakamoto and gold medallist Mai Mihara of Japan at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, a test event for the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Beijing. Photo: AP
Hong Kong figure skater Joanna So (right) with her bronze deal alongside silver medallist Kaori Sakamoto and gold medallist Mai Mihara of Japan at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, a test event for the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Beijing. Photo: AP
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So cited training with new coach Yang Zhixue as a huge factor in breaking personal bests at two successive events, insisting her consistency and quality have risen in line with her motivation.

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