Two-time and reigning world champion Sui Wenjing and Han Cong finished second in the pairs' short programs at the 2021 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Sweden's Stockholm on Wednesday.
A year off the ice ring due to Han's hip surgery, the Olympic silver medalists performed well enough despite being slightly tentative as they scored 77.62 points, trailing the first-placed Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSR) duo Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii's 80.16 points in their first competition of the season.
Sui was called for a quarter rotation on their side-by-side triples, but otherwise the team embodied the kind of confident skating fans have known them for.
"Returning to competition and doing well, and showing our standard, is the result of our many years of hard training. It shows our foundation is quite strong," said Han.
"Although our training time has been short, on the ice our result is still strong. Our goal is to outdo ourselves."
FSR duo Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov are third with 75.79 points.
Peng Cheng and Jin Yang of China perform in the pairs' short program during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, March 24, 2021. /CFP
Peng Cheng and Jin Yang, China's No. 2 team placed fifth with a score of 71.32. Peng had an unexpected fall in the beginning of the program but she did well to quickly recover and handle herself throughout the program.
She received a quarter-rotation call on her triple toe as well, but otherwise the duo performed a beautiful skate to "Somewhere in Time" for their short program.
The pairs' free skate will take place on Thursday evening.
Anna Shcherbakova leads after ladies' short program
Anna Shcherbakova tugged at the heartstrings of all those watching her short program on Wednesday.
Fully displaying her elegance and capabilities, the three-time and reigning Russian national champion, who is turning 17 on Sunday, performed a picturesque short program, scoring 81.00 points to top the ladies field.
Anna Shcherbakova of FSR during the ladies short program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, March 24, 2021. /CFP
"In general the whole skate was full of nerves," Olympic Channel reported her telling reporters after her skate. "I had to watch every move. In general, I am very satisfied that it all worked out. I am most satisfied with my combination. It was the hardest jump in my program, and the most important one."
Skating last, Japanese star Rika Kihira, still just 18 herself, had a mesmerizing performance which could have had the viewers on their feet if the tournament was not taking place behind closed doors.
Hitting her trademark triple Axel, Rika proved herself as a brilliant skater and "a fighter" as coach Stephane Lambiel said to her when she stepped off the ice.
Surprisingly though, the judges awarded her 35.40 in the program component marks, leaving her with an overall 1.92-point gap after Shcherbakova headed into the long.
The reigning Japanese national champion and Four Continents champion is expected to pull off a quad Salchow in her free as she pushes herself technically to challenge for that top spot on the podium Friday evening.
Rika Kihira of Japan during the ladies short program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden, March 24, 2021. /CFP
Moreover, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva landed her patented triple Axel and eased her way to the highest score before the final six skaters took to the ice.
Back at worlds for the first time since her triumph for gold in 2015, the 24-year-old sat in third after the short program with a score of 78.86.
One of the favorites for the ladies' title, Alexandra Trusova failed to complete her combination in the short program. That cost her heavily as she scored 64.82 to place 12th after the short.
"I think I didn't manage with my nerves," Trusova said, quoted by Olympic Channel. "Lately, I feel very nervous at the competitions. I don't know why that is. I have to think about it. I will try to skate clean."
Russian skater Alexandra Trusova performs during the ladies short program at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden, March 24, 2021. /CFP
Trusova has planned for an unprecedented five quadruple jumps for the free skate which very likely will help her reclaim that lost ground.
Besting her previous personal record by some seven points, American Karen Chen came fourth (74.40) with a stylish and confident performance.
South Korea's Kim Telim and Japan's Sakamoto Kaori rounded out the ladies top six with 73.63 and 70.38, respectively.
(Cover: Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China perform in the pairs' short program during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, March 24, 2021. /CFP)