China's Olympic champion Han Xiaopeng claimed the freestyle men's aerials at the Asian Winter Games at Beidahu, Jilin city on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Han, who is still recovering from an ankle injury sustained before the competition, scored 223.89 points in a field of eight athletes from four countries and regions to claim his first Asian gold medal.

It is the second gold medal for China at the freestyle skiing after Olympic silver medalist Li Nina won the women's aerials on Wednesday.

Han's teammates Qiu Sen and Liu Zhongqing finished second and third with 215.63 and 199.55 points respectively on the scoreboard.

Japanese Kotaro Kurata ranked fifth on 186.82 points but shared the bronze medal with Liu Zhongqing according to the OCA rules that one team can not sweep all medals in freestyle skiing.

"I did not ski my best and the strong wind also affected my performance," said Han, now ranked fifth in the world.

"My leg still hurt a lot when I was landing, so I have to treat my injury seriously."

Source: Xinhua