Indian Skaters

jatin · Administrator Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 136

The quest for Olympic gold sparked the comeback of China's three-time world championship figure skating pairs team of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo.

Figure skating duo back for golden dream

"The Olympic championship is our dream," said Zhao on Tuesday, which also marked his 36th birthday. "We have claimed the world championship title three times but no Olympic gold. The reason for our return is very simple - to strive for Olympic gold."

The pair stood down from the national team after winning the 2007 World Championships and moved to south China's Shenzhen city to run a skating club. They also performed abroad.

However, they resumed serious training with the national team in May to prepare for next February's Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, their fourth Winter Olympics.

To realize the Olympic dream, the veteran duo is working hard every day, particularly to build up strength.

"As we got into more stamina training, we got muscle aches over almost all of our bodies," Zhao said. "But there is no way out except to training harder."

For the upcoming season, the duo has got new routines, one has a modern tempo with a strong beat and the other has a love theme. Their new costumes are being made in the US and Canada.

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