Olympic silver medallists Pang Qing and Tong Jian destroyed their rivals to win pairs gold at the world figure skating championships on Wednesday. The duo showed unique brand of flair and technical excellence in claiming their win.

The Chinese duo, who led after Tuesday's short programme, performed their free skate to "Impossible Dream" by Joe Hisaishi. They finished a comfortable 6.65 points ahead of two-time defending champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany.

The Chinese scored 136.11 points to top the free session after topping the short program. They claimed the title with a total of 211.39 points with Savchenko and Szolkowy taking silver. Russia's Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov dropped to bronze after leading the Germans in the short program.

Pang and Tong, who have competed together for the past 17 years, have seen a renaissance in their skating this season after dropping off the world podium following their silver in 2007. Olympic pairs champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo retired straight after last month's Vancouver Winter Games, and did not take part in the world championships.

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