TOKYO - Japan's Mao Asada says she has come a long way to be ready for another gold-medal showdown with reigning Olympic and world figure skating champion Kim Yu-Na at February's Sochi Winter Games. Asada, who took the silver medal behind her South Korean archrival at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, won her second Grand Prix title of the season in Tokyo on Saturday despite some problems with her trademark 3.5-revolution triple axel. "Since Vancouver I have repeatedly re-adjusted my jumps from scratch," the 2008 and 2010 world champion told reporters in Tokyo over the weekend, saying she now felt more confident as a result. "Now I'm finally beginning to feel the effect of what I have gained in the three years since Vancouver. I believe I have stepped up since Skate America," she added.–AFP