Wind at the halfpipe venue started to pick up at noon, following the women's event, greatly affecting the performances of athletes competing in the men's snowboard halfpipe qualification round. So disruptive was the wind, that many decided to lower the difficulty of their runs during the second round.

Wang Ziyang, China's top medal hope, struggled on both runs, sustaining a serious injury on his second.

The 21-year-old landed on the edge of the halfpipe so hard that he chipped it after attempting a frontside 1260. He got back up, but struggled to make it to the bottom of the halfpipe, where he fell on his back, unable to move. He was quickly treated by paramedics at the scene, before being taken to hospital for treatment.

Gu Ao, Wang's teammate, said Wang had sustained a knee injury. "The wind has indeed created problems for the snowboarders. It keeps pushing us to one side of the halfpipe and had made it difficult to complete the tricks."

On Wednesday afternoon, Wang, who went viral online after executing a breathtaking triple front flip in the men's snowboard knuckle huck at the 2025 X Games in Aspen, Colorado, in January, said on social media: "It's not that bad. I will do my best to recover."

Japan's Kikuchihara Koyata emerged as the most consistent competitor, completing both runs without any obvious faults. He now sits second, with a score of 75.00. The ROK's Kim topped the men's standings after the first round with a score of 78.00.

The pioneering Afghan team, competing in the snowboard halfpipe at the Asian Winter Games for the first time, received rousing support from the crowd, even though the trio is unlikely to make the podium following Thursday's finals.

Ahmad Mushtaba Habibzi said that just making it to the Games was already a "gold medal moment" for the team.

"My dreams have truly come true today. I hope the young people in Afghanistan are watching and are inspired by us," Habibzi said.

Contact the writer at cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn