Hanyu Yuzuru is a star among his own stars

It goes without saying Hanyu Yuzuru has a few admirers.

Count snowboard Big Air bronze medallist Murase Kokomo as one of them. The 17-year-old said she spotted Hanyu at the Japanese delegation hotel and was completely starstruck.

"I only saw him from far away but I saw him on the way for a meal in the Japan tower", Murase said on Wednesday (16 February), a day after clinching her first Olympic medal.

"I was like, wow, the real him - in the flesh. It blew my mind".

Hanyu on this day did not turn up at practice for Sunday's gala at Capital Indoor Stadium, perhaps resting the sprained right ankle he suffered on the eve of his free skate.

While he failed to reach the podium at his third Games, his stock only seems to be rising. Hanyu's popularity has been such here that he was a subject of the Games' daily morning briefing.

A day earlier, the two-time gold medallist worked out to the tune of "Phantom of the Opera" while on painkillers.

At Monday's press conference, Hanyu did not immediately rule out returning for a fourth Olympic Games in Milano Cortina.

While he is entered for the world championships in Montpellier, France, 22-27 March, it remains to be seen whether the 27-year-old will compete, especially given his injury.