Tatsuki Machida: 'Yuzuru Hanyu not yet a rival'

Tatsuki Machida has said that he does not yet consider his Japanese compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu to be his rival at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Hanyu finished Thursday's round in the men's team short program ahead of the rest of the pack.

"For the time being, he's not my rival yet," the Japan Times quotes Machida as saying. "We're teammates now. But once the team event is over, then he will be my rival."

Machida won the silver medal at the 2014 Japan Figure Skating Championships.