Rika Kihira in the women's free skate at the World Team Trophy figure skating at Maruzen Intec Arena Osaka on April 17, 2021 in Osaka. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Two-time Japanese national figure skating champion Rika Kihira will not contest the NHK Trophy in Tokyo this month as she continues to rehabilitate an injured right ankle, the Japan Skating Federation said Friday.

       Kihira, who won her second straight national women's singles title last December, suffered the injury in July.

       The 19-year-old had been scheduled to compete at the Nov. 12-13 NHK Trophy, the fourth stop on figure skating's Grand Prix circuit, after skipping the Skate Canada International competition last month due to the injury.

       Kihira relocated to Toronto in September to train under Canadian coach Brian Orser, coach of Japanese men's superstar Yuzuru Hanyu, who has also withdrawn from the NHK Trophy because of an ankle injury.

       With just three month to go until the start of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, medal hopeful Kihira has yet to get her season under way, hampering her bid for Olympic selection.

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