Chinese favorite figure skating pair Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao were back in good shape after a downturn in the Four Continental Championships, setting to claim the third consecutive victory in the Harbin Winter Universiade.
China's figure skating head coach Yao Bin told Xinhua on Thursday the knee injuries of Zhang Dan were getting better and would not affect their systematic training.
"The aces are returning to their peak shape. They expected to show their best in front of home fans, and pocket the third straight victory in Winter Universiade."
The pair, two-time winner of the sports gala since 2005, will participate in the pairs skating in the ongoing Universiade, slated for Feb. 18-28 in northeastern Chinese city of Harbin.
The Harbin natives, silver medalists at the Turin Winter Olympics, experienced setbacks at the Four Continental Championships in Canada two weeks ago due to failures in flying sit spin and lifting.
Yao said Zhang Dan was in her period during the games, and her knee injuries were terrible at that time. After a few days' recovery training, they gradually got back into game shape and were confident to executive difficult programs in the upcoming games.
Russian skaters were referred by Yao as the strongest rivals for the pair, two-time winners of the World Championships.
"We regard the Winter Universiade as rehearsal and test for the Vancuvor Olympics next year. We would take opportunities to find weakness of our athletes and make best preparations for Olympic gold," said Yao.
Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, 24 and 25 respectively, are vying for a gold medal in Vancouver to defend themselves.
(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2009)