China's young figure skating pairs are filling rinks with youthful exuberance after the country's veterans saw China claim gold, silver and a fifth-place finish at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Besides the established young pair of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, who claimed their third straight title at the World Junior Championships earlier this month, another pair -Yu Xiaoyu and Jin Yang - is also closely shining on the ice. The younger pair finished second at the junior worlds after winning gold at the first Youth Winter Olympics in January.

"We want to be the best, and our target is the highest podium," Jin told China Daily. "Of course, there is still some distance between us and Sui and Han in terms of sliding range, skill difficulty and communication, but we will work hard to catch up."

Jin, 17, and Yu, 16, have skated together for three years. Both started skating at the age of five and turned to pairs because "it's easier to see a future in pairs".

"It's too hard for me to stand out in singles, but it's different in the pairs because China is always one of the leading countries in this respect," said Jin.

"The transition also gives me more responsibility and pressure because, as the male, I need to stay alert and protect the girl," he said. "Yu is very brave. The girl has to bear great mental pressure when we throw a quadruple jump, but she is different from most other girls, she never gets cold feet."

Yu said she is confident performing the quadruple jump, although the pair hasn't used it in a formal tournament.

Jin said their favorite pair is Vancouver Olympic champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo as they represent the summit of the sport.

tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/21/2012 page22)