Shen and Zhao Aim China's First World Pairs Title

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, March 19, 2002

Shen and Zhao Aim China's First World Pairs Title

China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo moved a step closer towards winning China's first pairs gold at the world figure skating championships in Nagano of Japan on Monday.

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China's Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo moved a step closer towards winning China's first pairs gold at the world figure skating championships in Nagano of Japan on Monday.

The Olympic bronze medallists took the lead in the short program ahead of Russia's Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin.

In the third place were the national champions of Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman from the United States.

Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, and Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier shared the Olympic gold, but skipped the worlds in the wake of a judging scandal that sent figure skating spiralling into one of its darkest hours.

"It doesn't matter whether they come or not. We are competing against ourselves, not competing against others. What we're going to do is to perform the best we can for the audience," said Shen.

Chinese duo downgraded their double twist to a single, but still earned the best marks of a 5.9, seven 5.8s and a 5.7 for technique, and a 5.9, five 5.8s, two 5.7s and a 5.6 for artistry.

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