CHANGCHUN, Jilin province - Yao Bin, head coach of China's figure skating national team, doesn't agree with some popular opinions that China is suffering a decline in the sport, though he admitted that it seems a mission impossible to defend the pairs title at Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

Yao, 54, has almost single-handedly turned China into a pair skating world power. Among Yao's proteges are Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo, whom he coached to three Olympic medals, including a gold in Vancouver 2010, plus seven world medals, Pang Qing/Tong Jian and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao.

Somebody say that Chinese figure skating hit a low after Shen and Zhao retired in 2010, as the other two leading pairs - Pang Qing/Tong Jian, Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao - had been struggling over the last two seasons.

But Yao, nicknamed "godfather of Chinese figure skating" among home fans, brushed aside the sentiment.

"It's normal to see a low ebb after a Winter Olympic Games," Yao told reporters as the figure skating competitions of the 12th National Winter Games got underway on Wednesday.

"Pang and Tong had been tensed for too long and they need to rest, while for Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, the most important thing right now is to get fit as soon as possible," said Yao.

Pang Qing/Tong Jian, the two-time world champions and silver medalists in Vancouver, took a season off after finishing second in the 2011 world championships, while the 2006 Winter Olympic silver medalists Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao were plagued with injuries last season.

According to Yao, some new faces have emerged and they have great potential to become future stars.

"I see some fairly good talents from the younger generation, such as Song Nan and Wu Jialiang of the men's singles, Li Zijun of the women's singles and Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of the pairs, are all young and promising," said Yao.

"They need time to get more mature and obtain recognition on international stage in senior level," he added.

Still, it would be a tough task for China to win the pairs gold in the 2014 Games, said Yao. "We broke Russia's dominance and snatched the pairs gold in Vancouver 2010. So the Russians must be determined to revenge by winning it back on their home soil," Yao said.

"They called back overseas coaches, built new rinks and trained even harder. We feel a lot of pressure.

"It may not be our time in 2014 in Sochi, but we'll fight all out for it," he added.