CHONGLI, China, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — Japanese snowboarders Ruka Hirano and Yuto Totsuka secured prime positions of their respective heats to advance to the lads’s halfpipe remaining of the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup in Chongli, north China’s Hebei Province, on Friday.
The qualification spherical was divided into two heats, with the highest 5 snowboarders from every warmth progressing to the ultimate.
In Heat 1, 23-year-old Yuto Totsuka led the pack with a rating of 90.75 factors after a powerful second run. Beijing Winter Olympic gold medalist Ayumu Hirano adopted in second place with 88 factors, whereas Olympic silver medalist Scotty James from Australia secured third place with 85.25 factors.
Chinese snowboarders Wang Ziyang and Fan Xiaobing narrowly missed advancing, ending in seventh and tenth place, respectively, of their warmth.
“I finished the run, which is great. I tried a higher difficulty on my second run, and it went much smoother than my first one. I’m satisfied,” mentioned the 23-year-old Fan after his qualification spherical.
In the opposite warmth, Ruka Hirano from Japan claimed first place with a powerful rating of 91.75 factors, reserving his spot within the remaining.
The males’s snowboard halfpipe remaining will happen at Genting Snow Park on Sunday.