China's Cai, Wu advance to FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup final

China's veteran Olympian Cai Xuetong and Wu Shaotong both advanced into the women's final of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup at Genting Snow Park in Chongli on Friday.

The qualification round was a single heat, and the top-eight snowboarders advanced into the final.

31-year-old Cai earned 87.75 points from her first run and ranked third among all 27 competitors. The World Cup defending champion fell slightly behind Japan's 15-year-old Sara Shimizu, who scored 92.00 points to lead the qualification, and U.S. snowboarder Madeline Schaffrick who earned 91.00 points.

"I feel quite excited about the start of this season. I enjoy my time on the course. I'll present higher difficulty in the final," Cai said after the run. "Next year I'll be participating in the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin. It's my hometown, so I'm really excited."

Chinese snowboarder Wu also clinched the final berth, finishing seventh place with a score of 78.50 points after her second run.

"I felt a little bit nervous today since this is the very first competition of this season. My second run went better, but it still had minor flaws. I'll try my best with higher difficulty in the final," Wu said.

The finals will be staged on Sunday.