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POSTED AT 9:50 PM EST Friday, November 02
Sandhu reaching for the stars
By BEVERLEY SMITH
From Saturday's Globe and Mail


Saskatoon - For a long time, Emanuel Sandhu has been haunted by things of
this world. Friday night, he was haunted by things of another world.

The Canadian figure skating champion is staying in a hotel that is
supposedly haunted.

Sandhu has been performing extremely well at the MasterCard Skate Canada
International, even with a lack of sleep. One night, he was startled out of
slumber when he heard something bang against the lamp beside his bed.

Another day, he finished shaving and carefully placed his razor at the back
of a shelf and left the bathroom. A short time later, he heard a loud crash.
He raced back into the bathroom and found his razor and other things on the
floor. This can't be real, Sandhu thought.

Forget the poltergeists. What is real is the emergence of Sandhu as a
contender in the big leagues of skating. "I've been told for years that I
have the talent to do it," Sandhu said. "Now, I'm really understanding it,
and now I'm trying to make it be so."

Take his triple Axel, for example. Even though he can do a triple jump at
will from a standing start in practice, Sandhu's triple Axel used to fizzle
when he needed it most. This week in practice, he landed an astonishingly
difficult and unusual triple Axel - triple toe loop and triple loop
combination, a three-jump tour de force that has never been seen. Take that,
Sandhu says.

This amazing feat will be part of his routine this season, but you won't see
it in the men's long program at Skate Canada Saturday night. His coach,
Joanne McLeod, said, with a twinkle, they weren't about to tell when it will
show up. But it's Olympian, for sure.

At Skate Canada, Sandhu is in second place behind the three-time world
champion, magnificent Alexei Yagudin of Russia, after saving a quadruple toe
loop and triple toe loop combination that went up into the air like a
listing ship. Sandhu fought for it, saved it and made it look easy. That's
the new Sandhu, the Sandhu who doesn't doubt his ability.

He has also been practising a quadruple Salchow this week. He needs it to
stay in step with the men in the upper echelon.

The tricks are coming, but more than anything, Sandhu will be saved by his
new attitude. He's developed a powerful focus. He's taken responsibility for
his own training, working diligently at home one week when McLeod was off
with another student at an international competition. "I think I'm becoming
more mature in my training," he said.

It's also helped that he showed off his short and long programs to audiences
on the Josée Chouinard farewell tour last month.

"I've always wanted to be the best at everything I do, no matter what it
is - ballet dance, swimming, gymnastics, skating," Sandhu said. "It's one
section of my life that I'm going through now, and this is what I want to
achieve. I want to be the best."

He's an overachiever, which is what it takes to be part of a men's practice
at an international competition.

Lately, men's practices on the international stage have been worth the price
of admission. There's little surprise that a small crowd showed up early
Friday morning at SaskPlace to watch them. The men's event has become a
Canadian favourite, especially because of the long history of Canadian men
who have won gold medals at world championships: Donald Jackson, Brian
Orser, Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko. Now it seems that Sandhu wants to -
and can - step into those shoes.

Even Canadian bronze medalist Ben Ferreira of Edmonton is reaching high.
This week, he landed a quadruple toe loop and triple toe loop combination in
practice. He's ready to put a quad into his short program, although at this
competition, his allergies are kicking up.

Ferreira has been taking legal medication for his condition, but it's
speeding up his heart rate. During the short program on Thursday, he looked
as if he was in fast forward, rushing for each element.

Even the old guys are trying to keep in step. Todd Eldredge, the 1996 world
champion, who's now 30, landed a beautiful quad-double combination in
practice last week and gambled on trying it in the risky short program.
Landing it on two feet, and a few other errors, pushed him to fourth place.

And the Quad King, Elvis Stojko, 29 and healthy, sank to third place when he
fell on his quad in the short program.

U.S. silver medalist Sarah Hughes won the women's short program Friday night
after four-time world champion Michelle Kwan fell and finished second.

Kwan fell on her triple Lutz combination, while Hughes landed a triple Lutz
and double loop.

Fumie Suguri of Japan was in third place with a top-notch performance, ahead
of world silver medalist Irina Slutskaia of Russia, who doubled her Lutz.