Struggling Japanese ski jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi picked up his much-awaited first World Cup victory of the season Friday in Sapporo.

The Beijing Olympic normal hill champion's first win came in the 14th World Cup event of the 2022-23 season. It was his 28th career World Cup victory.

Kobayashi's first-round jump of 135 meters on Sapporo's Okurayama Hill put him second in the standings before he added a 130-meter second jump to finish with 271.5 points, 7.2 ahead of Polish runner-up Dawid Kubacki.

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi soars on his second jump during a World Cup ski jumping event at Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium in Sapporo, northern Japan, on Jan. 20, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

"The win came as a surprise to even myself," the 26-year-old Kobayashi said. "I'm so happy for having two good jumps for the first time in a while."

"I've struggled this season due to a lack of enough preparation from the summer. I'll try to make good jumps and excite the crowd in upcoming events."

Norway's Halvor Egner Granerud was third, 8.9 behind Kobayashi.

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi reacts after winning a World Cup ski jumping event at Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium in Sapporo, northern Japan, on Jan. 20, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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