BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Former halfpipe snowboarder Wang Xuemei is eager to make her FIS-A Big Air debut next week at the Air&Style World Cup Beijing.
"I've been waiting for this moment for more than ten years," the 22-year-old, who started to learn how to ride snowboard at nine in her hometown Harbin, Northeast China, told Xinhua here on Thursday at a pre-event press conference.
"This is my first Big Air World Cup and I'm very excited about it since my big dream is to represent China in Beijing 2022 Winter Games and to finish on podium with an Olympic medal," she said.
The World Cup Big Air Beijing, which was initially introduced to China in 2010 as one of the three Air&Style stops around the world, has been upgraded last year to be a recognized FIS-A official event among the six stages on the tour.
With Big Air having been added to the Olympic program in PyeongChang 2018, the Air&Style Beijing World Cup became the qualification and point collecting event for both PyeongChang and Beijing Winter Games.
Wang's only former experience on international stage was an invitational competition last year in Finland, where she finished ninth.
She will join nine other Chinese, five male and four female snowboard riders, to compete in the Nov. 23-24 tournament which has drawn about 70 athletes from more than 20 countries and regions, to be held in the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest.
"Being part of the national Big Air team is cool for me, and I'll work hard because my level is still far from the big names who set the standard quite high," said Wang, adding that China just set up the national squad in August, 2016.
