Bulgaria's Hristina Vassileva failed to qualify after the first round of the women's competition at the world figure skating championships on Wednesday.

She ranked 20th in qualifying Group B with assessments ranging from 3.0 - 3.7 and 3.3 - 3.9, while in the final ranking she is 39th.
Forty-two women's competitors were divided into two qualifying groups according to their results at the 2002 championships.

Four-times world champion Michelle Kwan topped qualifying Group A. But Olympic champion Sarah Hughes struggled through a sub-par performance and Russian Yelena Sokolova delivered a stellar one to make the anticipated medal sweep by the American women unlikely.

Sokolova clinched second ahead of the third American contender Sasha Cohen, while Hughes is back in sixth. Once the second qualifying group skates later on Wednesday, Hughes will effectively be in a tie for 11th place.

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