Japan pair eye quads

Ando won gold while Asada took silver at last month's world figure skating championships in Tokyo but both have plans to take their skating - in particular their jumps - to new highs.

"I want to land a quad cleanly," Ando said. "I need to be looser and more confident in big events."

The 19-year-old is the only woman to have landed a quadruple jump in competition but was warned off attempting it by her coach during her free skate programme at the world championships.

Ando had finished 15th at the 2006 Turin Olympics after crashing to the ice on an attempted quad. Fellow Japanese Shizuka Arakawa went on to become the first Asian woman to win Olympic gold.

Asada stormed back to take silver at last month's world championships after South Korea's Kim Yu-na blew her overnight lead by falling twice in the free skate and finished third.

"It was a good season but I had some ups and downs," added Asada. "I want to be perfect from the start of next season - no mistakes."

The 16-year-old also has designs on incorporating a quad into her routine. "It would be really nice to be able to get a quad jump in," smiled Asada, who scored a record total of 199.52 points at last December's NHK Trophy.

"Everybody will be looking to raise the level on their jumps."

With Kim taking bronze despite chronic back trouble, Asia completed a historic sweep of the women's medals at last month's world championships.

Defending world champion Kimmie Meissner finished fourth after the Americans' attempts to shift the pressure on the 'home' skaters in the run-up to the competition failed.

The long-term future of women's figure skating in Japan looks bright too.

Ten-year-old Rika Hongo, already being hyped as the next Arakawa and under the tutelage of Arakawa's first coach Hiroshi Nagakubo, could turn out to be the best of the lot.

"My dream is to skate at the Olympics," said Hongo. "I want to become like Shizuka Arakawa."