Yabuli, China, February 8, 2025: Late entry Li Fanghui claimed China’s first gold medal at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin when she won the women’s freeski halfpipe event at the Yabuli Ski Resort on Saturday.
Li, 21, was a last-gasp replacement for Chinese superstar Gu Ailing, who pulled out of Harbin 2025 earlier in the week due to injury. The Harbin native more than made up for the absence of her more famous teammate by soaring to the gold medal.
“I didn’t know I would be participating in these games until just three days before it began. I’m excited and pleased to have won the gold medal under these circumstances, and especially in my hometown,” said Li
Li also shrugged off doubts brought on by an old injury to win the gold medal with an impressive score of 95.25 points. Her Chinese teammate Chang Kexin took silver with 89.25 points and Korean Jang Yujin claimed bronze with a score of 85.00.
“I broke my collarbone some time ago and that put some doubts in my mind as I was perhaps subconsciously afraid. I told myself in training ‘don’t be frightened about getting injured again’. It was all about being mentally strong and having self-confidence,” she said.
It was a sweet homecoming for Li, who left Harbin for training eight years ago. “The last time I was in Harbin I was very young, and at the time I wasn’t familiar with this sport. I’m very glad to return after all these years and win a gold medal,” she revealed.
Li was unaware that she had won the first gold medal for the host nation at these games. “I was concentrating solely on my performance,” she said.
Zhang Xiaonan, another of the X generation of Chinese female winter sports athletes, won the gold medal in the women’s snowboard slopestyle with a dominating performance that left the rest of the field in her trail.
Also a Harbin native, Zhang, 18, got better as the competition progressed, finishing off with a near-flawless final run to clinch the gold on her debut appearance at the AWG.
“It is a great honour to win gold for my country. I was a bit nervous heading into my final run. One of the tricks I added was a 900-degree spin off the first jump,” said Zhang.
Her breakthrough performance came in a World Cup qualification event last year when she finished fourth. “That psychologically gave me the self-belief and confidence that I can win. Winning gold at my first Asian Winter Games is an incredible feeling, but I want more. I want to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics,” Zhang added.
China’s gold rush in Yabuli continued with Li Lei winning the cross-country skiing women’s sprint, and Wang Qiang bringing home gold in the men’s cross-country skiing sprint. It was a 1-2-3 for China in the women’s sprint with Meng Honglian and Chen Lingshuang taking silver and bronze behind Li.
