NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two-time world champions Pang Qing and Tong Jian clinched the pairs title at the NHK Cup ISU Grand Prix of figure skating here on Saturday.

Pang and Tong came to the rink last as the top-ranked pair after Friday's short program. Their free dance of Liebestraum by Franz Liszt earned a score of 122.27 points, setting their combined score at 189.37 to win the NHK trophy for the third straight year.

Japan's home pair Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran created history by winning a third spot with a score of 155.56, becoming the first Japanese pair to win a medal in major international competitions. Russian pair Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov collected a total score of 173.83 to finish second.

Earlier, Vancouver Olympics silver medalist Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States skated to win the champion of ice dance with a combined score of 165.21.

Japan is the first leg of the season's Grand Prix, which will conclude in Beijing in December.