Skating Tuesday (Korea time) at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy, Cha scored 92.72 points, with 50.08 in technical elements and 42.64 in program components.
With three groups completed, Cha stood first in the interim standings and secured a spot in the free skate, which is limited to the top 24 skaters.
Cha, the 15th skater to take the ice, opened to “Rain in Your Black Eyes” and landed a quadruple Salchow cleanly. He followed with a triple Lutz-triple loop combination and earned Level 4 on his flying camel spin.
In the second half, which carries a 10% bonus, he completed a triple Axel, then finished with a change-foot sit spin (Level 4), step sequence (Level 3) and change-foot combination spin (Level 4).
Kim Hyun-gyeom of Korea University, skating in his Olympic debut, scored 69.30 points (37.92 TES, 32.39 PCS) with a 1-point deduction, putting his bid to reach the top 24 in jeopardy.
Kim was unsteady on the landing of his opening quadruple toe loop, then fell on a triple Axel attempt for his second jump, drawing a major deduction. He recovered with a Level 4 flying camel spin and a clean triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, then closed with a step sequence (Level 3) and Level 4 change-foot combination and change-foot sit spins.
The free skate, which will decide the medals, is scheduled for Feb. 14.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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