By Rory Carroll
MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Ami Nakai emerged the surprise leader of the Olympic women's figure skating competition on Tuesday, with Kaori Sakamoto in second and Alysa Liu third heading into Thursday's free skate, where the medals will be determined.
On a night where many delivered strong performances, 17-year-old Nakai stood above the rest after a short programme that included a triple Axel for a season's best 78.71.
"I wasn't nervous at all, so I was able to perform as my usual
self and excel," Nakai told reporters.
"Since this is my first Olympics, I had nothing to lose, and that mindset definitely translated into my results. I was deeply moved by the (Japan's gold-medal) pair's performance yesterday, and it really brought home to me how important it is to never give up until the very end," she added referring to Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara's triumph.
Sakamoto, a three-times world champion who is gunning for a gold-medal ending to her Olympic career, leaned on her experience to deliver a graceful, vintage performance for 77.23 points.
Reigning world champion Liu, competing in her second Olympics, combined authenticity and originality to finish third with 76.59.
Liu's teammate Amber Glenn nailed a soaring triple Axel to open her skate but was reduced to tears after completing a double loop instead of a planned triple, earning zero points for that element.
The three-time U.S. champion finished a disappointing 13th with 67.39.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Milan, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
