figure skating
Shen-Zhao's Best Gives Chinese Pair Early Lead
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Two-time world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China skated their best short program at the World Figure Skating Championships yesterday in Tokyo to take the lead in pairs and relegate the defending champions to third.
Shen and Zhao scored a personal- and international-best 71.07 points. Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China finished third with a 66.75 points, and the German pair of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy were second with 67.65 going into the final skate.
Taking the lead was a major break for Shen and Zhao, who are looking for their third world title after injuries forced them to miss the last two world championships. Their previous best was 70.52 points, which they scored at the 2004 Grand Prix Final in Beijing.
The pairs gold, to be decided today, will be the first of the championships.
The men's medal, awarded tomorrow, is up for grabs, with no clear favorite and a large pack of potential contenders.
Defending champion Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland is something of a question mark having competed in only one other major tournament this season. He won that, coming back from sixth place after the short program, and also won his seventh Swiss nationals.
Ready to dethrone him are French skater Brian Joubert, who won the Grand Prix and his second European title in January; U.S. champion Evan Lysacek, winner of last month's Four Continents tournament; and a pair of talented young Japanese skaters, Daisuke Takahashi and Nobunari Oda.
On Friday and Saturday, defending women's champion Kimmie Meissner will have to hold off a group of teenagers -- not least of whom is her U.S. teammate, 18-year-old Emily Hughes.
-- From News Services
