Japan's Hanyu confirmed to be out of team event

PYEONGCHANG, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu will not participate in the figure skating team event as the order of play was released Thursday for the opening day's competitions.

According to the men' s singles short program starting list for Friday, the newly crowned ISU Grand Prix Finals champion Uno Shoma will represent Japan in the team event, which is part of the Olympic Winter Games for the second time with 10 teams qualified.

Hanyu, 23, suffered ligament damage in his right ankle while practicing for the NHK Trophy last November, and began training on ice only last month.

His coach Brian Orser, however, told reporters at Gangneung Ice Arena that Hanyu will be "100 percent" for the men's competition beginning next Friday, adding Thursday afternoon that he's planning five quads.

"Yuzu is planning two quad toe loops, two quad salchows and possibly a quad loop for the free skate," said Orser.

The Canadian, who's also coaching South Korean skater Cha Junhwan and quite a few other established male skaters, sounded very positive towards Hanyu's fitness.

"It (his recovery) was slow, as expected, because the injury was quite bad," ORSER said. "It was slower than we all were hoping.

"But he has been back on the ice for a few weeks now and he is doing all the jumps. He is not doing (quadruple) Lutz, but he is doing everything else.

"Right now, last week and this week is just mainly conditioning. It's quite remarkable how quickly things come around, when he got on the ice," Orser added.

Hanyu, who's bidding to become the first skater to defend his Olympic title since Dick Button in 1952, has not competed since last October when he finished second to the American-born-Chinese Nathan Chen at the grand prix in Moscow.

The team event will take place at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 9, 11 and 12, with all 10 teams competing in the short program and the top five teams advancing to the final free skating.

Each team comprises one man, one woman, one pair and one ice dance couple, but is allowed to exchange up to two skaters between short program and free skating. Enditem