Kinoshita Group Cup preview, Jacob Sanchez interview, and Ukraine contests AIN eligibility

<p>The second Challenger series event of the season is upon us, and it&#39;s a big one. Some of the best from Japan and Russia are in Tokyo for this showdown. Michelle and I preview this event, which will feature the first international appearance of Alexandra Trusova (now Ignatova), Mark Kondratiuk, Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Koslovskii since the 2022 Olympics. Japan sends their strongest, including Mao Shimada, Yuna Aoki, Rio Nakata, and Shun Sato.</p><p><br></p><p>Plus, I got to sit down for a quick chat with Jacob Sanchez about his new programs, a short program with Misha Ge and a free skate with Adam Blake (&quot;it&#39;s good!&quot; he says), as he heads to Tokyo this week.In the meantime, the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation announced today that they wrote a letter to the ISU contesting the application of AIN criteria for eight Russian skaters. We don&#39;t know the implications of that officially for Kinoshita Group Cup, but things seem to be quickly moving.</p>