Canadian ice dancing couple Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam withdrew from the free skate at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix after they clashed with another duo in practice. Paul collided with Italian duo Lorenza Alessandrini and Simone Vaturi during the morning practice session on Saturday, and suffered a cut to the back of her thigh, the International Skating Union said in a statement. No other details were immediately available.
The Canadians, both 20 and silver medal winners at the 2010 world junior championships, stood in seventh place on Friday after the short dance in which young Russians Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov dominated. NHK Trophy is the fourth event in the six-round Grand Prix series.