1ST LEAD Gasser wins big air gold, Hirscher out of slalom in early Games action By Barry Whelan, dpa

Pyeongchang, South Korea (dpa) - Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser won the first big air gold medal on its debut at the Olympics but compatriot Marcel Hirscher missed out on a medal in alpine skiinglsquo;s menlsquo;s slalom on a busy day of action at the Pyeongchang Games on Thursday.Gasser, the 2017 world champion, scored a total 185.00 points from her two best jumps, while Jamie Anderson of the United States took silver to add to her slopestyle golds in Pyeongchang and Sochi 2014. Bronze went to Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand.Hirscher was seeking a third gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games but the slalom favourite skied out in the first run, led by Norwaylsquo;s Henrik Kristoffersen.The womenlsquo;s combined was the second alpine ski event of the day, while medals were up for grabs in the the biathlon womenlsquo;s 4x6-kilometre relay, Nordic combined menlsquo;s team large hill/4x5km, menlsquo;s halfpipe in freestyle skiing and three short track events - the menlsquo;s 500m, womenlsquo;s 1,000m and menlsquo;s relay.Canada and the United States were competing for gold in the womenlsquo;s ice hockey final, with Canada seeking a fifth consecutive gold.The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) meanwhile scheduled a hearing for 2 pm (0500 GMT) in Pyeongchang into the doping case of Russian curling bronze medallist Alexandr Krushelnitcki. According to Russia media reports quoting the Russian Curling Federation, Krushelnitckii will give back his bronze medal from the mixed doubles after failing a drug test for the banned substance meldonium at the Games.