Sotnikova, Hanyu return to fray

Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova will be in the spotlight after her controversial gold at the Sochi Games as men's champion Yuzuru Hanyu also returns to the fray as the figure skating season kicks off at Skate America on Friday.
Sotnikova, 18, surged to the title ahead of defending champion Kim Yu-Na of South Korea in February to become Russia's first ever women's Olympic figure skating champion.
The former world junior champion had never won a senior title or world medal before her Olympic success which whipped up a storm of protest amid claims she was overmarked, with one judge, married to the Russian federation president, seen hugging Sotnikova after her success.
Sotnikova has vowed, however, to prove her victory was merited.
"I want all the gold there is out there. I am the Olympic champion, but this is not the end of it," she said.
She skipped the world championships, and all eyes will be on the teenager as she takes to the ice for the first of her two Grand Prix assignments at home in Moscow at the Cup of Russia from November 14-16, before she competes at the NHK Trophy in Japan later that month.
Despite the pressure, Sotnikova insisted: "I'm looking forward to the new season. I just can't wait to start competing."
Many of her Olympic rivals will be absent in the post-Games season.
Kim has retired while Japan's reigning world champion Mao Asada, who finished sixth in Sochi, is skipping the season, along with Olympic bronze medallist Carolina Kostner of Italy.
- Mentally exhausted -
Sotnikova's rivals for the world title in Shanghai next March include countrywomen Julia Lipnitskaya, Anna Pogorilaya and Elena Radionova, as well as Americans Gracie Gold and Polina Edmunds.
European champion Lipnitskaya, 16, who finished fifth in Sochi after helping Russia win team gold, is feeling confident for the new season.
"I had a very hard period of recovery after the Olympics," Lipnitskaya said. "I was mentally exhausted. Now I understand why some of the skaters quit after the Olympics.
"After the Games I took part in skating shows and that gave me plenty of experience. Now I'm a completely different person. And I have a strong desire to grow further."
Lipnitskaya will start her campaign in the Cup of China, and will also compete in the Trophee Bompard in France.
Japanese men's hopes this season are focussed on reigning Olympic and world champion Hanyu, with former world champion Daisuke Takahashi now retired.
Like Sotnikova, Hanyu wants to forge a reputation as a multiple gold medallist, despite a back problem which forced him out of the second-tier Finlandia Trophy this month and could hamper his bid to land three quads in the free programme.
- Shoulder surgery -
"I want to perform in a way befitting of the Olympic and world champion and establish my reputation," he said.
In the absence of his arch-rival and former three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada, Hanyu's biggest threat could be from compatriot Tatsuki Machida, a close runner-up at the worlds, along with training partner and world bronze medallist Javier Fernandez of Spain.
Machida will start by trying to defend his Skate America title, with Olympic bronze medallist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan also competing in Chicago.
In pairs, Olympic gold medallists Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov will miss the Grand Prix series as Trankov undergoes shoulder surgery, leaving Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia and Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford among the challengers.
In ice dance, Olympic gold medallists Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States and silver medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada will not be competing this season.
Italy's Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte will be bidding to defend their world title.
The six-leg ISU series moves on from Chicago to Skate Canada the following weekend, with further stops in November at the Cup of China in Shanghai, the Cup of Russia, the Trophee Bompard in France, and the NHK Trophy.
All skaters must compete in two events with the top six in each of the four disciplines -- men's, women's, pairs and ice dance -- qualifying for the Grand Prix final in Barcelona from December 11-14.
Source: AFP