"Captain" Cha Jun-hwan (25, Seoul Metropolitan Government) was absent and South Korea's men's figure skating could not avoid the cut at the world championships. The number of spots for next season will also be reduced to one.
Cha Young-hyun (Korea University) earned a technical element score (TES) of 37.70 and a program component score (PCS) of 37.70 in the men's singles short program at the 2026 International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating World Championships held at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, on the 27th (Korea time), finishing with a total of 70.92 points and placing 27th among the 36 competitors.
Kim Hyun-gyeom (Korea University), who also competed, received a technical element score (TES) of 39.22 and a program component score (PCS) of 31.49 for a total of 70.71 points, placing 28th. As a result, neither of the two athletes advanced from the short program, missing the cut and eliminating the chance to advance to the free skate, which is limited to the top 24.
As a result, South Korea's country quota for the next world championships was reduced from two spots to one. When two skaters compete, if their combined ranking is 13 or less the country receives three spots at the next event; if 28 or less, two spots; if greater than 28, one spot is given.
A skater who fails to advance to the free skate has their short program ranking reflected as their final ranking. Therefore, Cha Young-hyun and Kim Hyun-gyeom were recorded as 27th and 28th respectively, greatly exceeding the two-spot threshold of 28.
The absence of Cha Jun-hwan, the flagship star of South Korea's men's figure skating and the team captain, remained a disappointment. He finished fourth at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, the best-ever result for a South Korean men's singles skater, but he withdrew from this world championships due to injury.
On the 25th, Cha Jun-hwan posted on his social media, saying, "For the 2025-2026 season, with the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics as my last event, I have to withdraw from the world championships due to injury. I thank everyone who supported me! Our Team Korea's competitions start tonight. Please send a lot of support! I will cheer as well."
Cha Jun-hwan also shared a photo of his ankle. The reddened, swollen foot looked in need of treatment, and his skate boot appeared to have transparent tape layered on it as a temporary measure. Ultimately Cha Jun-hwan withdrew from this competition and will aim for the next world championships. Instead, Cha Young-hyun, who had been on the alternate list, was selected as the replacement and experienced his first senior world championships.
While South Korea's men's figure skating swallowed its disappointment, the short program leader was Ilia Malinin (United States) with a personal best of 111.29 points. Malinin, known for his quadruple axel jumps and nicknamed the "quad king," missed a medal at the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics but showed a different performance this time.
Having already won the world championships in 2024 and 2025, Malinin is attempting a three-peat at this event. He leads the second-place competitor by about 10 points and is the most likely favorite to win. The men's singles free skate, which will determine the medalists, begins on the afternoon of the 28th.
France's Adam Siao Him Fa (101.85 points) was second, and Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko (96.49 points) was third. Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics men's singles gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan) did not compete.
[Photo] ©Gettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), Cha Jun-hwan, ISU social media.
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