Gu Ailing takes pride in skiing for China on world stage

"You can go back to my first interviews when I was just eight or nine years old, and I've been saying the same things since then."

"That was way before I thought I'd have a career in this sport, way before any national teams either wanted me to ski for them or even knew I existed," Gu said. "For me, just knowing deep from my heart that my message remains the same and it's to bring the sport to more people and to contribute a net positive good to the world."

Following Gu's lead, two other Chinese skiers, Li Fanghui and Zhang Kexin, both elite performers in halfpipe who have finished on the World Cup podium, also qualified for the final, finishing at third and fifth, respectively, on the qualification standings.

"I think I did a good job adjusting myself physically and mentally from last week and to get back to my peak form quickly for this World Cup meet," said Li, who finished third, outperformed by Gu in the semifinals at last week's Snow League competition in Chongli.

"Looking forward to the final, I think I will have to improve the quality and details of my tricks, such as the grabs and altitude, to go for the medals again," said Li, who won her first halfpipe World Cup title at the Calgary leg in Canada on Feb 16.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn