Gu Ailing leads women's halfpipe qualification at home World Cup

Olympic champion Gu Ailing of China cruised into the women's halfpipe final at the FIS Freeski World Cup here on Thursday, joining compatriots Li Fanghui and Zhang Kexin, while Luke Harrold of New Zealand led the men's qualification.

Gu scored 86.50 points in her first run to sit second behind Li, before improving to 92.75 in her second run to top the women's qualification.

"This (Chongli) is definitely a good starting point toward Milan, a place of good fortune for me," said Gu. "I've always felt competing here is the hardest for me because it's competing at home. But I also believe that starting here and performing well here will surely help me in the coming competitions."

Britain's reigning world champion Zoe Atkin also improved on her second run, finishing behind Gu with 91.75 points.

"I'm super excited. It's a really big season. I'm just trying to carry in the confidence from last year, try to focus on my skiing, and not get too anxious or excited about the Olympics just yet," said 22-year-old Atkin.

China's Liu Yishan narrowly missed the final, finishing two points behind Estonia's Kelly Sildaru, who claimed the 10th and last qualifying spot.

In the men's event, 40 skiers were divided into two heats, with the top seven from each advancing. Harrold secured his place in the final with a first-run score of 93.33 points. World gold medalist Finley Melville Ives of New Zealand and silver medalist Nick Geiser of the United States also progressed, while all Chinese skiers failed to qualify.

The finals are scheduled for Saturday.