Chinese figure skating pairs gear up for Beijing 2022

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese figure skating pairs are sweating on their final preparations for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, aiming to reach elite performances.

Pairs including Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, twice world champions and 2018 Winter Olympic runners-up, together with two-time Four Continents medalists Peng Cheng and Jin Yang, attended an open training session on Wednesday.

Zhao Hongbo, pairs coach of the Chinese figure skating team, said on Wednesday that pair skaters' training sessions are aimed at ironing out problems that emerged this season. "We have increased the amount of training for skaters according to the flaws that emerged in the 2021 Figure Skating Grand Prix Series."

During the 2021-2022 season, Sui and Han won the Grand Prix of Figure Skating series in Canada and Italy, with Peng and Jin bagging one silver medal in Italy. Both pairs have been confirmed to represent China at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Zhao mentioned that the team is training according to the schedule of the Olympic Games, in a bid to knock skaters into shape. "We have a targeted plan of physical and power training, and focus on the practise of a single jump."

As for Sui and Han, who are considered gold medal hopefuls at Beijing 2022, Zhao said that they would adjust the degree of difficulty according to the skaters' form.

"Facing strong rivals, we seek a stable performance. The skaters are striving to deliver their best on home ice," said Zhao, who secured the Olympic pairs title with Shen Xue at Vancouver 2010.

The top five pairs in the latest world rankings all belong to China and Russia, with skaters from both federations expected to dominate the figure skating pairs at Beijing 2022.