2015 Asian Trophy
SYWTW FS
The Asian Open Trophy, one of the first international B competitions of the season and featuring skaters from various Asian countries, will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from August 5-8.
Results, entries, schedule etc.
Website
Disciplines: men, ladies
Levels: basic novice A & B, advanced novice, junior, senior
Notable entries: Hiroaki Sato (senior), Keiji Tanaka (senior), Michael Christian Martinez (senior), Riona Kato (senior), Mai Mihara (senior), Kaori Sakamoto (senior), Yuna Aoki (junior), Marin Honda (junior)
How to watch: Audience members will probably take videos and upload them online.
PREVIEW
Note: Some skaters might withdraw after the writing of this post.
Senior men:
Hiroaki Sato (Japan) made his senior international debut at the 2015 Gardena Spring Trophy, where he placed 3rd, following a 15th-place finish at the 2015 Junior World Championships. He will skate as a full senior this year, having aged out of juniors.
Keiji Tanaka of Japan will begin his second senior season at the Asian Trophy. Last season, he placed 8th at Cup of China and Japanese Nationals, and 2nd at Gardena Spring Trophy.
Michael Christian Martinez of the Philippines has been battling injuries, but will hope to get a good start to his season here. He won the 2015 Triglav Trophy and placed 2nd at the 2014 Warsaw Cup. He also competed at his first Grand Prix last season, placing 10th, and he finished 21st at the 2015 World Championships.
Senior ladies:
Riona Kato (Japan) turned senior in the 2014-15 season and placed 5th at NHK Trophy and 7th at Japanese Nationals. She won the silver medal at Asian Trophy last season in the senior category.
Mai Mihara (Japan) will skate on the Junior Grand Prix this season, but will compete as a senior here. She won the 2015 Gardena Spring Trophy in the junior division earlier this year.
Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) will also remain on the JGP this season, but is competing as a senior at Asian Trophy. She is the reigning junior national silver medalist and finished 6th at 2015 Junior Worlds.
Junior ladies:
Wakaba Higuchi from Japan is one of the big names at this competition. She is the 2014 JGPF and 2015 Junior World bronze medalist and reigning junior national champion. Since she is not old enough for senior competitions yet, she is returning to the junior circuit. She may attempt her programs with updated technical content at the Asian Trophy. Withdrawn as of Aug. 4.
Yuna Aoki, Japan’s reigning novice national champion, will make her junior international debut this season. Yuna won the 2014 Asian Trophy and 2015 Challenge Cup in the advanced novice category.
Marin Honda, Japan’s reigning novice national silver medalist, is also making her junior debut this season. She won the 2015 Bavarian Open in the advanced novice category and placed 3rd at Asian Trophy last season.
This event tends to be dominated by Japanese skaters, which is why this preview mostly talks about them. Look out for the South Korean skaters, too.