Korean male figure skater Cha Jun Hwan reached the top of the podium at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China.
On February 13, Cha Jun Hwan won the gold medal, scoring 187.60 (99.02 technical points + 88.58 artistic points) in the men's single free skate program. He claimed first place with a combined total of 281.69 points, including his short program score of 94.09 points.
He beat 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama (272.76 points) by 8.93 points with a flawless, clean performance. Kagiyama made three mistakes in his jumps, leading him to lose points.
Cha Jun Hwan struggled with a lingering ankle injury that became more severe in November, which led to him missing his free skate at the 2024–2025 ISU Senior Grand Prix's Finlandia Trophy competition. Subsequently, he concentrated on ankle management and avoided pushing himself too hard during the national team trials. Despite this, he performed wholeheartedly at the Harbin competition, securing a significant outcome.
At this Harbin competition, Korea made history by winning gold medals in both the men's and women's singles. In the women's singles, Kim Chae Yeon defeated Kaori Sakamoto, a three-time consecutive World champion from 2022 to 2024. Both Cha Jun Hwan and Kim Chae Yeon finished second in their short programs but succeeded in making a comeback in the free skate to claim victory.
Cha Jun Hwan made history as the first Korean male figure skater to secure a gold medal at the Asian Winter Games. With this gold medal, he is now exempt from mandatory military service.
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