Pairs World Champion Jamie Salé and her partner David Pelletier laugh as they wait for their marks following their short program on Thursday. Photo: Paul Chiasson/CP

Saskatoon — It was no surprise that world pairs champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier won the short program at the MasterCard Skate Canada International Thursday night.

It was no surprise that the magnificent Alexei Yagudin, a three-time world champion, won the men's short program.

What was surprising — and special — was the fight and focus of reigning Canadian champion Emanuel Sandhu, who finished second to Yagudin, and who outpointed three-time world champion Elvis Stojko in the eyes of every judge.

Stojko is third, and the 1996 world champion Todd Eldredge of the United States fourth.

Sandhu, who gave signs of his new resolve last March when he finished fifth in the men's long program at the world championships in Vancouver, bolted out of the gate with all flags flying, landing a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination with utter determination. He and Yagudin were the only ones to accomplish the feat.

Stojko, 29, fell on his quad attempt, which was supposed to be a quad-triple, something he had landed in practice earlier Thursday.

Sandhu raced on, and also landed a triple Axel and a triple Lutz, but it was his quad attempt that showed something new about the 20-year-old skater from Richmond Hill, Ont.

Sandhu admitted that his quad was on a 45-degree angle in the air. But he was able to convince himself that he wasn't going to pull out of it. "You're going to stay in," he told himself. "You're going to use the hell out of your talent here and have confidence that your talent will take over. That's exactly what it did."

Yagudin took the lead in the short program, landing a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, and rousing the crowd with spectacular footwork. Yagudin, Sandhu and Salé and Pelletier earned standing ovations from the crowd.

Stojko said he was a little anxious heading into his quad. "I need to get a little calmer," he said. It was only his second competition in a year. A series of injuries hobbled him last season.

Stojko said the quad was there; he just slipped out of it. He did a quad-triple in practice Thursday morning. "I just have to be patient," he said.

Salé and Pelletier, two-time Canadian pairs champions, said now is not the time to rest on their laurels. They are taking nothing for granted.

"We've heard so much about this being a walk in the park for us," Pelletier said. "We haven't taken anything out of the program. We haven't made it easier. It's never a walk in the park. Last week [when they won Skate America], it wasn't a walk in the park.

"It doesn't matter who competes against us, the Russian, the Chinese. We focus on our job."

Salé and Pelletier's toughest competition this week was supposed to come from world bronze medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China. Shen injured her ankle after competing at the Masters Pro Am in San Diego several weeks ago. She had been training in Beijing. However, Chinese officials said she may be ready to compete at the Grand Prix event in Germany next week.

Salé and Pelletier's toughest rivals for Olympic gold are two-time world champions Elena Berezhnaia and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia, second at the world championships last year.

Berezhnaia and Sikharulidze weren't scheduled to come to Skate Canada, but they are currently having troubles and may miss the event in Germany next week.

After a fall from a lift during a training session in Russia, Berezhnaia's blade slashed Sikharulidze's arm from wrist to elbow. Sikharulidze spent the night in a hospital after getting stitches.

Last night at Skate Canada, Russia's third-ranked pair, Tatiana Totmainina and Maxim Marinin finished second, while China's second-ranked pair, Pang Qing and Tong Jian are third.

Canadian bronze medalists Anabelle Langlois of Grand-Mere, Que., and Patrice Archetto of Montreal are in fourth place in only their first Grand Prix event, even though they made mistakes.

Langlois did only a throw double Salchow instead of a triple, and the pair lost its unison on the side-by-side spins.

Langlois and Archetto have been together only three years. The Four Continents Championship at Salt Lake City last February was only their first major international event.

Canadian bronze medalist Ben Ferreira finished seventh in a field of 11 men.