Team Harbin dominates half-pipe at Winter Games

Team Harbin enjoyed a big harvest in the snowboard half-pipe as they swept both of the team titles at the in the Beidahu snow resort in Changchun on Wednesday.

Paced by the 18-year old former world junior champion Cai Xuetong, the Harbin women's team clinched the convincing triumph in 62.0 points.

Cai, who finished 23rd in the Vancouver Games as the youngest snowboard skier, scored a match-high 25.1 for Harbin. Her teammate Li Shuang, who claimed the women's compulsory title on Monday, added 22.8. And Chen Xi's 14.1 points were good enough for Harbin to pocket the gold.

China's half-pipe spearhead Liu Jiayu, who has won six World Cup, one gold medal at the FIS Snowboarding World Championships in 2009 as well as the fourth place at the 2010 Vancouver Games, did not compete here due to injuries.

The silver was who by Fushun in 48.3 and team Wulanchabu collected 29.2 points to take the bronze.

The men's half-pipe team event was also ruled by Harbin as they collected 72.2 points to edge Fushun with 67.7. The bronze went to Aletai with 58.8 points.

Team Harbin also won the team event of men's cross country 4x10km relay in 1:54:35.5. Their star skier Xu Wenlong notching the fourth gold at the quadrennial winter sports meet.

The biathlon events saw the Army team (PLA) swept the last two gold on Wednesday as Zhang Chengye and Tang Jialin both grabbing their third gold medal. Zhang won the 15km mass start in 49 minutes, 18.5 seconds, while the 20-year-old Tang won in the women's 12.5km mass start in 45:27.0.

PLA won nine out of the ten golds in biathlon events.

Also ended on Wednesday were the short-track speedskating competitions at the 12th Chinese National Winter Games. National team-member Liang Wenhao led hosts Changchun to win the men's team title as Liang himself took the sixth gold medal.

Two-time Olympic champion Zhou Yang, who lit up the cauldron of the Games in the opening ceremony was still missing. Without Zhou, team Changchun only finished with a silver in the women's team event. The gold was won by Jilin.