Officials keen to cash in on skating success
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China's figure skating officials have vowed to unearth more young athletes to continue the country's surge in the sport after the nation made history at the Vancouver Winter Games by claiming the gold and silver medals.
"We are considering building up a strong reserve team of figure skaters," said Ren Hongguo, vice-director of China's Winter Sports Administrative Center. "We hope local teams can send more talent to the national level."
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At the pairs competition at the Vancouver Games, China's comeback veteran duo of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo earned a record high score on its way to gold. Compatriots Pang Qing and Tong Jian finished second while Zhang Dan and Zhao Hao were fifth. The remarkable achievement is being regarded as a springboard for further development of a rising powerhouse in the sport.
"I hope more and more parents will let their children become figure skaters," said Yao Bin, head coach of the national team.
"If more children join, we have a greater chance to find more talent."
Some young duos are already starting to emerge behind the Olympians.
One young pair skaters, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, won the Junior Grand Prix Finals title this season under the guidance of Yao's former partner, Luan Bo.
"We have set up a coaching team in Harbin under coach Luan which is specifically for the training of a reserve team," said Ren. "They are working to produce a backup force for the sport in China."
After the Vancouver Games, husband-and-wife duo Shen and Zhao have declared they will retire but Zhao has already expressed his willingness to be a coach.
"Shen and Zhao have great experience and they are very enthusiastic about the sport. They are capable enough to coach," Ren said. "If they raise such ideas again, we will give them our full support."
Silver medalists Pang and Tong haven't decided their long-term future yet but will compete at the World Championships next month in Italy.
"We are considering letting Pang and Tong follow the route of Shen and Zhao, which would mean allowing them to be free of national commitments for a few years and then calling them back before the next Winter Olympics," Ren said.
Besides the figure skating pairs, China's ice dancers, Huang Xintong and Zheng Xun, were ranked 19th among 23 pairs after the compulsory dance at the Games. Oksana Dominina and Maxim Shabalin from Russia were in the leading position followed by home favorites Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
"Achieving a high score is not the goal for us at these Games. It's about accumulating more experience," said Zheng. "I want to discover our weak points and work on them to progress afterwards."
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