US figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin achieved a season-best 106.90 points in the men's short program as the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final commenced on Thursday.

Ilia Malinin of the United States performs during the short program of the men's skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023 in Beijing, China, Dec. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)

The 19-year-old star delivered a high-quality quadruple Axel to captivate the audience and completed his short program flawlessly at the National Indoor Stadium.

"I feel really great and glad that I was able to put the quadruple Axel in the short program under pressure. It is an honor for me to work hard, make all the efforts and spend hours and hours in skating to compete here," he said after the competition.

Japanese skaters Shoma Uno and Yuma Kagiyama placed second and third respectively with 106.02 and 103.72 points, while French favorite Adam Siao Him Fa encountered mistakes in jumping and scored only 88.36 points to rank sixth after the short program.

German figure skating pair Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin expressed satisfaction with their performance, leading the short program with 72.56 points and anticipating the free skating on Friday. They were followed by the Canadian pair Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps with 71.22 points, victors of the ISU Cup of China last month.

Deschamps said, "We are not very happy. We had some mistakes on the throw and jump in the short program. Some steps are in our direction, and some of them are not so much. So, we need to go and train the short a little bit harder for our next event."

The third-ranking pair, Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy, earned 70.30 points in their first trip to China. "We are happy to skate our best short program here."

The pairs free skating, women's short program, and rhythm ice dance events of the ISU Grand Prix Final are scheduled for Friday.

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