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SAPPORO, Japan, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The figure skating competition started at the eighth Asian Winter Games here on Thursday with China leading short dance and South Korea topping women's short program.
Chinese ice dance duo Wang Shiyue/Liu Xinyu, seventh in the Four Continents Championships last week, led the short dance with 66.02 points, beating Japan's Kana Muramoto/Chris Reed to second place with 64.74 points.
"It is only five days after the Four Continents. The two competitions are too close, and we have never done that before," Liu said.
"Now we have a two-point advantage, and I am confident of our free dance," he added.
"The Japanese pair were always in front of us last season, so this season we vowed to surpass them," said Liu. "Of course we want to win at the Asian Games, but I will not think too much about the result, and just try to perform to our training level."
Another Chinese pair Chen Hong/Zhao Yan ranked third with 59.02.
The free dance will be held on Friday.
In the women's short program, South Korea's Choi Dabin, 17, who made her senior Grand Prix debut this season, ranked first in 61.30. Choi placed fifth at the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Gangneung, South Korea with her personal best score, 182.41 last week.
Japan's Rika Congo came second in 60.98, while China's Zhao Ziquan third in 58.90. Another Chinese Li Zijun ranked fourth in 58.65.
