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Sandhu and Langdon begin hunt for silver
Both want to get to the world championships, but only one will emerge from the nationals this week on the road to Helsinki. The other will get lost on a one-year detour.
Three-time world champ Elvis Stojko, favoured to win a fifth national title this week, seems certain to get one of Canada's two men's singles berths for the worlds. His teammate there will be determined starting tonight (CTV, 8 p.m. EST) when the men present their short programs
At the 1998 nationals in Hamilton, Sandhu made a spectacular debut in the senior division by edging Langdon for silver. But Sandhu failed to make the cut for the free skating at the worlds in Minneapolis, while Langdon landed eighth.
This season, Sandhu had impressive Grand Prix results -- a third at the Lalique Trophy meet in Paris, and a sixth at the NHK meet in Sapporo, Japan, where he rebounded in the long program after a mistake-filled short routine put him at the bottom of the standings.
"I consider myself a fighter and in order to keep my reputation as a skater intact I had to skate a good long program," he said before practice Wednesday.
Sandhu now has a worldwide following. A Japanese fan has dedicated an Internet Web site to the 18-year-old skater who lives in Stojko's home town of Richmond Hill just north of Toronto. He enjoys the attention.
"Last year, it was like, 'Emanuel who?' Now, it's like, 'Emanuel? Oh, Emanuel Sandhu."'
He insists he won't let his notoriety change him.
"That's the kiss of death for some people," he said. "I just focus on my skating.
"The attention creates extra pressure, and there is pressure from the audience, and pressure you put on yourself. But what will be will be. That's the attitude I try to take."
Que sera sera.
Sandhu has come a long way in one year.
"I've improved my speed," he explained. "I've improved how I carry myself on the ice.
"That comes with age and experience. Also, I have a quad now."
Sandhu has landed a quad-triple combo in practice this week, and there are two quads scheduled in his programs.
"You need to have it in this sport now," Sandhu says of the four-revolution jump. "The younger generation knows it's just another jump now. One isn't going to be enough so I'm working on some others."
Langdon, 23, of Barrie, Ont., has struggled this season. He was eighth at Skate Canada in Kamloops, B.C., and eighth at the Cup of Russia meet in Moscow. Langdon will not try a quad in competition this week.
"The goal here is to put down two solid performances and make the world team," Langdon said. "My season hasn't been going great, and I want to prove to myself that I can do it."
Langdon says he isn't blinded by Sandhu's rising star.
"I don't even pay attention," he said. "That's not my worry.
"If I can go out and do my own thing, that's all that matters. I've trained hard in the last few weeks. I've just found myself in the last month."
Crashing at these crossroads would be a huge step back for him.
"Career-wise, obviously this meet is important," he said. "You don't want to take a year off the world scene after being there for two years.
"The thing I want to do is get back there and move up from eighth. That's a realistic goal. If you just keep your sights set on that and move forward and don't look behind you and look at the opportunities that lie ahead, it makes this part easier.
"I feel that I can do it. I can't worry about what's going on around me or where the attention is focused. If I can do (tonight) what I do in practice, I'll be fine."
Sandhu's one hangup this week is the NHL-sized Civic Centre ice surface.
"The biggest thing for me is to get used to the size of the ice surface," he said. "I train on an Olympic-sized rink back home and I have to fit all my jumps into an 85-by-200 rink here.
"I've been smashing into the boards. It's a challenge for me."