Figure Skater Cha Jun-hwan Aims to Exceed Initial Goals at Beijing Olympics

Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan is set to compete in the men's singles free skate at the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Thursday.

He finished fourth in the short program early this week with a personal best score of 99.51 points and qualified for the free skate, in which the top 24 skaters compete.

Cha's better-than-expected finish in the short program has raised hopes that he will exceed his initial ambitions. He finished in 15th place four years ago in Pyeongchang.

Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, who is regarded as one of the strongest medal contenders, is aiming for his third consecutive Olympic medal, but failed to execute a technically difficult quadruple jump in the short program and dropped to eighth place with a score of 95.15 points.

Hanyu is expected to attempt the difficult jump again to beat Nathan Chen of the U.S., who is leading with 113.97 points, followed by two Japanese skaters, Yuma Kagiyama (108.12 points) and Shoma Uno (105.9 points).

Meanwhile, female figure skater Yoo Young arrived in Beijing on Wednesday. The women's singles short program will take place on Feb. 15 and the free skate is scheduled for Feb. 17.