Figure Skating

 Paris - South Korea's Kim Yu-Na won the battle for supremacy over Japanese rival Mao Asada as Japan's Nobunari Oda claimed gold in the men's event at the season-opening Trophee Eric Bompard on Saturday.

World champion Kim lead all the way to seal her second Paris title by a massive 36.04-point margin on Asada, the 2008 world champion, who fell during her programme.

The Palais Omnisport de Bercy was ablaze with Japanese flags to cheer on 19-year-old Asada, and Oda, 22, who had earlier gotten his Olympic season off to a winning start.

But in the women's event it was Kim who held her nerves, skating last to Gershwin's Concerto in F major, to give herself a psychological advantage with the Winter Olympics in four months time.

The 19-year-old opened with a triple lutz-triple toeloop combination and landed five of her planned triples, scoring a personal best 210.03 points.

"I was very surprised when I looked at the scoreboard that I achieved a personal best in the first competition of the season," said Kim.

"This is the Olympic season and the first competition after I became world champion. I was worrying about that, but I finished my programme without any problem."

Asada had been trailing in third after the short programme and needed to skate cleanly to keep her chances of reclaiming the title she won in 2007 alive.

But a two-footed landing on her triple axel and a fall on her double axel in her programme to Rachmaninov's Bells of Moscow ended her title challenge as she scored 173.99.

Asada, who heads to Moscow next for the Cup of Russia, knows that the battle to make the Japanese Olympic team will be fierce.

"It's not yet decided, but I'm really motivated and would be euphoric if I get to go," she said.

Japan's Yukari Nakano dropped to third after problems landing two of her triple jumps in her programme to Firebird by Stravinski.

"Every element is so important, I can't even make small mistakes," said Nakano, who scored 165.70.

Earlier, Nobunari's comical Charlie Chaplin medley earned him a standing ovation as he surged past overnight leader Tomáš Verner of the Czech Republic to clinch the title with 242.53 points.

Verner paid for mistakes in his routine to The Godfather and had to settle for silver with 229.96, with world junior champion Adam Rippon of the United States taking bronze with 219.96.

As in the short programme Oda did not attempt a quadruple jump, but cleanly landed eight triples including three in combination.

"I couldn't try for a quad, that's the only thing I didn't do good," said Oda. "I talked to Nikolai (Morozov, coach) and he said I didn't need to do one here. I think I will need to do one though."

Verner opened with a quadruple jump, and landed six triples, but doubled his planned triple lutz and loop jumps as he admitted he ran out of steam.

"I forgot for a while I was skating in Paris with all the Japanese flags," joked Verner.

France's Brian Joubert finished a disappointing fourth as his ambitious programme, which included three quadruple jumps, failed to pay off.

He touched down on the opening quad toeloop, fell on the second and downgraded his third to a triple.

"I'm very disappointed not to have won this trophy," said the 2007 world champion.

"I won it in 2006 and wanted to win it again. This competition is special because it's in France but that also means extra pressure. I have to bounce back for the rest of the season."

In pairs, Germany's two-time world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, who had been leading after the short programme, slumped to third after a disastrous free skating routine in which they both fell.

Russia's Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov claimed their first Grand Prix title ahead of Canada's Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison.

In ice dancing, Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took gold.

France's Nathalie Pechalat and Fabien Bourzat won silver and Britain's Sinead Kerr and John Kerr bronze.