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SAPPORO, Japan, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's figure skaters Yu Xiaoyu/Zhang Hao led the
pairs at the eighth Asian Winter Games here on Friday.
Yu/Zhang, who finished fourth at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships last week, danced passionately to "Eternal Flame, Fearless" and earned 77.0 points to rank first.
Another Chinese duo Peng Cheng/Jin Yang, skated to "My Drag" by Jimbo Mathus, came behind in 67.24 despite a mistake in their throw triple-loop.
"I was relaxed today, and I didn't expect such a high score," Yu said. "We have many team tests recently and we are lack of training."
The two Chinese pairs switched partners nine months ago and after a hard time it seems the two pairs are both in good condition.
"It's difficult at first," said Yu, 21, a two-time world junior champion. "I had skated with Jin for nine years, so I was upset to dance with a new partner. But I know it is a good thing to both of us, so I accept it."
According to veteran Zhang, 33, who won a silver at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics with his first partner Zhang Dan, Yu and him shared the same dream.
"We want to take part in the 2018 Olympic Games, and we want good result," said Zhang. "We will fulfill our dream step by step. Firstly we will try our best at the coming world championships, and then the Grand Prix next year."
Peng and Jin were not satisfied with their performance. "We made a big mistake as I fell in the throw. It affected our whole program," Peng said. "I hope we can do better in the free skate tomorrow."
DPR Korea's Ryom Tae Ok/Kim Ju Sik stood third in 65.22.
