Siao leads as Olympic champ Shaidorov falls on figure skating Grand Prix return

ANGERS, France (AP) — Mikhail Shaidorov fell in his biggest competition since winning Olympic figure skating gold, leaving Adam Siao Him Fa with a commanding lead at the Grand Prix de France on Saturday.

Home favorite Siao delighted the home crowd, which also saw the French Olympic champion team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron dominate the ice dance event.

Siao landed two quadruple jumps in his jazzy short program as he scored 102.46 points for a vast 17-point advantage over Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko in second on 85.49 ahead of Sunday's free skate. South Korea's Seo Min-kyu was third on 83.83.

Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, who won Olympic gold in February after favorite Ilia Malinin missed the medals, fell on his opening jump combination and put a hand down on his next jump as he ended up fourth.

That continues a low-key start to Shaidorov's reign as Olympic champion after he skipped last season's world championships — a redemption skate for Malinin — and placed third in a lower-level event to begin this season.

In ice dance, Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron remain the team to beat after another statement win to start the season, scoring a total 207.57 to win by nearly 14 points from Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Georgia.

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko won the first United States medal of this year's Grand Prix series with bronze on 189.36.

Later Saturday, the pairs event begins with the short program before Japan's Yuna Aoki aims to convert her short-program lead into a first Grand Prix win in the women's free skate.

See full AP coverage of European sports here

FILE - Gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan displays his medal after competing in the men's free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

FILE - Adam Siao Him Fa from France competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has recalled batter Salman Ali Agha and left-arm spinner Ali Usman for its two home test matches against Sri Lanka in November.

Agha and Usman were among seven cricketers flown back home during a chaotic tour of England after Pakistan lost the second test at Lord’s in August. England swept the series 3-0.

Agha has been scoring prolifically since his return to Pakistan and followed his triple century in a domestic first-class match with a century against Sri Lanka in the ongoing ODI tri-series.

Opening batter Imam-ul-Haq and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who were also recalled midway through the England tour, won't play in the two tests against Sri Lanka.

The games will be held at Rawalpindi from Nov. 9 and at Lahore from Nov. 17, and are part of the World Test Championship cycle.

Babar Azam will continue as skipper.

The 14-member squad includes three uncapped players -- Mohammad Taha, Sameer Minhas and Mohammad Suleman -- following their impressive batting in the recent President’s Trophy Grade I domestic tournament.

The 26-year-old Taha leads the batting charts with 730 runs across seven games, including three centuries. Suleman also scored three centuries in the same tournament and has made 625 runs while Minhas scored 405 runs in his maiden first-class season.

Pakistan is at the bottom of the nine-team World Test Championship with just two wins and seven defeats.

Pakistan is also scheduled to host New Zealand at home early next year for two test matches to wrap up its disappointing WTC cycle.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Razaullah, Saad Baig, Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas, Saud Shakeel.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha reacts as he walks off the field after his dismissal during the tri-series one-day international cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)