Milan: Cha Jun-hwan finished fourth in the men's singles figure skating event at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, surpassing his own record for the best performance by a South Korean male figure skater but narrowly missing out on a medal.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Cha scored 181.20 points in the free skate at Milano Ice Skating Arena, achieving a season-best total of 273.92 points. He had previously earned the sixth-highest short program score of 92.72 points. Despite strong performances, Cha was only 0.98 points behind Japan's Shun Sato, who took the bronze.

Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan secured an unexpected gold medal with a total of 291.58 points, dominating the free skate with 198.64 points. Yuma Kagiyama of Japan claimed the silver medal with 280.06 points. Ilia Malinin of the United States, who led the short program with 108.16 points, struggled in the free skate, scoring 156.33 points, and finished eighth with 264.49 points.

Cha's technical element score was 95.16 points, evaluating jumps and spins, while his program component score, assessing choreography and artistry, was 87.04 points. Four years prior, Cha had placed fifth at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

After the short program, Cha trailed third-place Adam Siao Him Fa of France by 9.83 points. During his free program, set to "Balada para un Loco" by Milva, Cha fell on his second quadruple jump, the quad toe loop, but recovered to complete other elements successfully. Despite achieving a season-best score, it was not enough for a podium finish.

Siao Him Fa's performance included mistakes, leading to a free skate score of 166.72 points and a seventh-place overall finish with 269.27 points.