Cha Jun-hwan (Korea University), the figure skating men’s singles star, will challenge for his 8th consecutive victory in the 78th National Men’s and Women’s Figure Skating Championships, where qualification for the World Championships and the Taegeuk symbol for the next season are at stake.Cha Jun-hwan will perform for the first time in the new year by participating in the men’s single short program held at the Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Rink in Gyeonggi-do on the 6th.This competition is meaningful to Cha Jun-hwan.In 2017, when Cha Jun-hwan was a student at Whimoon Middle School, he caused a stir by winning the competition, defeating top players at the time such as Lee Jun-hyung and Kim Jin-seo. Since then, Cha Jun-hwan has never missed the first place and has served as a leading figure in Korean figure skating.The overall championship is the country’s highest competition where qualifications for participation in the International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating World Championships are determined.
A total of three World Championship qualification spots are at stake in the men’s singles competition in this competition.The top three will compare their skills with the world’s best players in Montreal, Canada in March.Cha Jun-hwan is determined to win this competition and take on the challenge of winning the World Championships for the second time in a row.He also wrote a new history in Korean figure skating by becoming the first Korean male athlete to win a silver medal at the World Championships in March last year.Qualification for the next season’s national team was also at stake in the comprehensive championships.Players’ final rankings are determined by adding up their scores from the President’s Cup ranking competition held in the first round of national team selection held last month and their scores from this competition.Since a total of 5 men’s singles players will be selected for the national team for the next season, Cha Jun-hwan is expected to easily wear the Taegeuk symbol.Cha Jun-hwan took first place in the Chairman’s Cup ranking competition last month with 260.53 points despite the aftermath of an ankle injury.Seo Min-gyu (240.05 points, Kyungshin Middle School), Lee Jae-geun (238.50 points, Surigo High School), Kim Hyeon-gyeom 슬롯게이밍 (230.70 points, Han Advertising), and Lim Ju-heon (227.79 points, Surigo High School) followed.