Washington, March 1 Chinese skier Cai Xuetong has claimed snowboard halfpipe women's title at 2020 US Open at Vail ski resort in Colorado. The victory marks the very first time a Chinese rider has won this title.
Cai earned the top podium position with a score of 88.16 on Saturday. Haruna Matsumoto of Japan took second place with 85.50, while her compatriot Ruki Tomita took third place with 85.00. Another Chinese rider Wu Shaotong finished sixth place, Olympic medallist Liu Jiayu dropped out because of waist injury, reports Xinhua news agency.
"This feels so unbelievable, this is the title I've always wanted. This event is for snowboarding. The setup is really good and I really enjoy riding here," Cai said. She has repeatedly appeared on the US Open podium, with a second place in 2016, third place in 2019 and three fourth place.
In men's field, Japanese Yuto Totsuka earned the winning score of 97.00 on his all-in second run. Jan Scherrer of Switzerland took second place with 95.16, Australian Scotty James ranked third with 93.00.
( With inputs from IANS )