It was a mixed bag of results for the three South Koreans competing in the short program of the ladies' singles at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships on Friday.

   The reigning national champion, Park So-youn, scored 53.47 points to rank 10th after a sloppy routine that included an under-rotated jump and a botched spin.

   Kim Hae-jin, a three-time national champ who has struggled this season, scored 51.41 points with a relatively clean program, and positioned herself in 11th place.

   Chea Song-joo, the third South Korean in the event, made her senior international debut with 42.16 points for 15th place.

   Though Park had the highest score of the three, she was the biggest disappointment, considering the expectations she'd carried as the host nation's best hope for a medal. The 17-year-old tried to open her program with a triple salchow-triple toeloop combination but managed only two rotations on the second jump.

   After a successful triple lutz, Park failed to even start her fly camel spin, a mistake that she later said she shouldn't have made.

   "My jumps were okay, but I made an inexcusable mistake," she said. "I hated myself for not doing that spin. But it's in the past, and I will try to forget about it and get ready for the free skate (on Sunday)."

   Park said she was so nervous her legs were shaking even as the program got under way.

   "I tried not to tighten up too much but I guess it didn't work out," she added. "I hope to skate with more confidence on Sunday."

   Kim, on the other hand, had an encouraging performance on the heels of a disastrous short program at the 2015 national championships last month.

   At the time, she'd failed to pull off a triple toeloop-triple toeloop combination and ranked only 12th in the short program.

Reduced to tears, Kim bounced back with a strong free skate and ended in fifth place overall.

   Having been bothered by knee and back pains all season, Kim opened her program with a relatively clean triple lutz-double toeloop combination. The 17-year-old said her growth spurt has put added pressure on her joints. Though she's not yet 100 percent, Kim said she was happy to be back on the right track.

   "This was my best short program in a while and I am pleased that I didn't make any glaring mistakes," she said. "I've been trying to minimize mistakes on jumps and to do what I normally do in practices."

   Kim said her immediate goal is to be able to land a triple-triple combination again in competition. (Yonhap)