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Japan's Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu has accused rival Denis Ten of deliberately colliding with him during practice at the world championships, local media reported on Thursday.
The 21-year-old heartthrob, who is poised to regain his world title in Boston, was in little doubt after watching videos of the incident, which occurred before Wednesday's short programme, AFP reports.
"I've watched the video and I think that was probably intentional," Hanyu told Japanese media. "But I still shouldn't have got angry at him -- that was pointless."
The Japan Skating Federation is set to file a formal protest to the International Skating Union calling on them to warn Kazakhstan's Ten, who took bronze behind champion Hanyu at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Hanyu, who became the first skater to break the mythical 300-point mark last December, was hospitalised after a sickening training collision with Chinese skater Yan Han in Shanghai in late 2014.
He returned to Japan in a wheelchair with stitches in his jaw and staples to close wounds in his head after defying coach Brian Orser to skate in China.
According to Japan's Nikkan Sports daily, his latest scare enraged Hanyu, who slammed his fist into the wall and yelled at Ten: "Hey, you, there's no need for that!"
