Japan's Fumie Suguri lost her nerve in the free skate and had to settle for third as Elena Liashenko of Russia pulled off a surprise win to take gold at the Cup of China on Saturday.
In pole position after the short program, world bronze medalist Suguri, who was looking for her first Grand Prix victory, came unstuck during a triple flip and never recovered as Liashenko soared from seventh to take the gold. Japan's Yoshie Onda was second. Liashenko put in a stunning performance to finish with a combined total of 153.54 points while Onda, who executed a string of solid jumps to move up in the rankings and surpass Suguri, had 148.79. Suguri finished on 143.67.