Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu topped the men's short program at the ISU World Team Trophy on Thursday, but was steaming mad at himself for taking a tumble.
"I'm not happy," the 20-year-old told reporters after crash-landing a triple toeloop at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. "It's been going on all season.
"I just can't seem to string it together," shrugged Hanyu, who surrendered his world title to Spain's Javier Fernandez in Shanghai late last month.
Hanyu, gold medalist at last year's Sochi Olympics, nailed his opening quad toeloop and looked in a different class until he got into a muddle on a triple lutz-toeloop combination, stumbling onto the ice to audible gasps from the packed crowd.
"I could feel the crash coming," said Hanyu, who scored 96.27 points to lead by some distance from China's Yan Han (87.13), the skater he smashed into last November in a sickening warm-up collision that left the Japanese with cranial bruising and needing stitches in his jaw and head.
"I didn't have the speed into the lutz and that did me (in). I'll have to train harder and come back ready to do better tomorrow."
Since his brutal wipe-out with Yan, Hanyu has undergone surgery for a bladder infection and been nursing an ankle problem. As silence fell before his skate on Thursday, one concerned female fan shouted: "Relax and keep calm!"
Greeted like a pop idol, Hanyu pressed his hands together to apologize to his adoring public for the spill but still did enough to lift Japan into joint second in the overall standings behind the United States, which topped the women's and placed second in the ice dance short routines.
The American team has 48 points after the first day of the three-day competition with Japan and Russia on 43.
Gracie Gold finished with 71.26 points, ahead of Russia's newly crowned world champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (70.93) and her countrywoman Elena Radionova (68.77).
World silver medalist Satoko Miyahara stumbled out of her triple lutz and had to settle for sixth on 60.52.
"It's a different kind of pressure in a team competition," said the 17-year-old. "You're constantly thinking you mustn't screw your jumps up — but I did."
Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada scored highest in the ice dance with 73.14 points, with American champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates behind them on 72.17 and France's world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron third (70.86).
"We knew we had a shot to win despite the short turnaround from Shanghai," said American team captain Bates. "But we also know it's far from over and we have a lot of skating left."
