"Hopefully, with four years ahead to improve our performance and to gain more big-time experience, we will try to finish on top of the podium in Beijing in 2022."

Since China's first world championship title, won by the retired pair of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo in 2002, figure skating pairs have been the much-anticipated event for Chinese fans at every Winter Olympics.

Boasting a difficult yet elegant routine to the same music Turandot, Shen and Zhao delivered home the country's first figure skating gold medal in pairs at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics having won multiple world titles.

Zhao took over the team in June 2017 as the head coach while Shen was elected chairwoman of the Chinese Figure Skating Association last month.

Han said the regret in Pyeongchang will serve an extra boost for him and Sui to work harder in every aspect of their routine in the build-up to Beijing 2022.

"I still believe we have more room to improve as we are not yet reaching our peak form. To grow as mature and consistent as our coach when they competed in 2010, we have to learn more from the veteran opponents around the world and figure out how we could improve further," said the 26-year-old Han.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.om.cn