体坛英语新闻：Chinese figure skating pair Peng/Jin rank fifth after short program in France

PARIS, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese pair of Peng Cheng and Jin Yang were positioned fifth after short program at the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix Figure Skating Internationaux de France in Grenoble on Friday.

Internationaux de France, penultimate stop of this season's ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix, has attracted a total of 58 skaters/couples from 15 ISU members.

Dancing to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Peng and Jin collected 62.40 points, and were provisionally ranked fifth after short program.

Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia sat atop eight pairs with 77.84 points. Local figure skaters Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres were second with 73.18 points, with Italy's Nicole Della Monica and Matteo Guarise third at 70.65.

Frannce's Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron, two-time world champions, looked set to lift up the trophy, and secure their tickets to the Final as they set a personal-best score of 81.40 points following spectacular performances.

"It was a lot of fun to perform to these great audiences today and we're very happy with our points. It's our season best and we're confident about our improvement. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but we're very happy tonight," Cizeron told ISU website.

"We knew that our weak point was often the technique in short dance and we worked a lot on it this summer," added his partner Papadakis.

The French pair have already won Audi Cup of China in Beijing two weeks ago. A top finish on home soil will secure their spots in the Final.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States ranked second with 73.55 points. Russian duo of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin was third at 70.02.

Following her victory at Skate Canada International, world silver medalist Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada was a step closer to the Final, as she led among 11 Ladies short program participants with 69.05 points.

Russia's Maria Sotskova and Japan's Yuna Shiraiwa were positioned second and third respectively. Russia's Alina Zagitova, Audi Cup of China champion, currently sat fifth after Japan's Mai Mihara.

Two-time world champion Javier Fernandez finished the men's short program in an unparalleled manner. The Spaniard led with 107.86 points, almost 14 points ahead of Japanese promising star Shoma Uno. Russia's Alexander Samarin had to settle on third.

Winners of four figure skating disciplines will come out on Saturday after free skating/dance.

Each skater/couple can choose to participate in two of six stops of the season. Top six finishers in each discipline will qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan in December.