Shoji in fourth after short program

BEIJING (Kyodo) Risa Shoji skated a clean short program to place fourth in the women's junior event at the Grand Prix Final on Thursday.

Skating to "Libertango" by Astor Piazzolla, the 14-year-old Shoji opened with a triple salchow-triple toe loop combination and went on to deliver a performance free of any major errors en route to a personal-best 52.56 points at Capital Gymnasium.

"It was a satisfying performance so I am happy," said Shoji. "I got into a good flow and was able to skate with composure."

Russian skaters filled the top three spots, with Adelina Sotnikova leading the way with 57.27. Elizaveta Tuktamisheva had 53.76 while Polina Shelepen scored 53.26.

Narumi Takahashi and Canadian-born Mervin Tran, the only other Japanese representatives in the junior competition, were in action in the pairs later in the day.