China's Yan Han, 16, is emerging as a world-class competitor in figure skating, Tang Zhe reports.

For his sixth birthday, Yan Han received a special gift from his grandfather - a stint at a skating rink. With some grasp of roller-skating, Yan soon found his legs on the ice and has not looked back.

Two days ahead of Yan's 16th birthday, the promising skater earned, as he wrote on his weibo account, "the best birthday present for myself", claiming a victory at the 2012 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Minsk, Belarus, the first time a Chinese junior skater had won gold at the tournament.

Though China's figure skating pairs frequently win medals at international events, the country has had to wait a long time for individual success after the retirements of renowned female skater Chen Lu and her male counterpart, Li Chengjiang.

Song Nan, a runner-up at the 2010 junior Worlds, has struggled to adapt to senior competition, so the emergence of Yan is regarded as a huge boost for the sport here.

Yan was discovered by coach Huang Bing two months after he started skating.

"The coach said I had the talent and just needed professional training," said Yan, whose grandfather is a skating enthusiast and made his own skates.

After one year at an amateur skating school with Huang, Yan was recruited to a sports school in Heilongjiang province by his current coach, Jia Shuguang.

"Yan is one of the most gifted among all the Chinese male skaters. He can deal with all the jumping skills and that enables him to make few mistakes," Jia said.

"Yan is a quick learner and stood out from his peers in the early years. He has a lot of potential and we will help him to move forward step by step."

After claiming several titles at Junior Grand Prix events over the past two years, Yan earned his ticket to the junior worlds earlier this month. To cap a fine year, he also won gold at the Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, in January.

"This was my second time at the worlds. I finished sixth last time due to lack of difficulties in my routine," said Yan, who enhanced his performance by using a triple axel and a quad toe-loop jump this time.

"I'm very proud to win the first gold medal for China in men's singles, but this is only a start, and I still need to work hard.

"The opponents at the Youth Olympics were easier to deal with. There were no American skaters or first-class Japanese athletes. At the worlds, there was more competition as all the elite juniors were there," said Yan, who was the flag bearer for China at the Youth Olympics.

Coach Jia echoed Yan's sentiments.

"I thought about a medal if he performed well before we went (to Minsk), but after I saw the participant list, I felt it was going to be quite a difficult task as Denis Ten of Kazakhstan was also in the event. He finished eighth at the World Championships and took part in the Vancouver Winter Olympics," said Jia.

"He performed well in training, but made two mistakes in competition; maybe he was too hungry for the gold," she said.

Despite his growing reputation and increasing expectations, Yan said he has a long way to go to catch up with the world's best skaters.

"I feel there is still a considerable gap between myself and the senior masters. I am confident with my jumps and sliding on the international stage, but I need to improve my performing and spins," said Yan, who was not satisfied with his spins during the short program at the worlds.

Yan was dubbed the "king of spin" at the age of seven, but Yan and his coach both concede that is an area that has to be improved now.

"Yan did spin really fast at an early age, but we have neglected the practice recently. Together with the increased difficulties added by new rules and the growth of his body, his advantage in spinning has decreased," said Jia.

"He also needs to improve in performing and expressing himself with the music. Sometimes he tends to overlook the details," she said. "Everyone expects a lot from him, and I believe he will continue to improve."

Yan said his favorite skater is Canadian Patrick Chan and he hopes one day to have the chance to perform programs by Canadian figure skating choreographer Lori Nichol, who works with Chan and several Chinese pairs, including Vancouver Olympic champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo.

Contact the writer at tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 03/21/2012 page22)