Milan Winter Olympics Mixed Doubles Curling Qualifier: China lost 3-7 to South Korea, missing out on the Winter Olympics, with the female player performing poorly.

On December 19th Beijing time, the Milan Winter Olympics mixed doubles curling qualifier held its decisive final battle, with China, second in their group, competing against South Korea for a Winter Olympics berth. The Chinese team played poorly, particularly the female player’s performance was weak, and ultimately we suffered a 3-7 loss to South Korea, missing out on qualification and the opportunity to participate in the Olympics, fully eliminating our chance at Milan Winter Olympics!

The Chinese team achieved a six-game winning streak in the group stage, but lost a crucial 5-6 match against Australia, the group leader and a world powerhouse, putting them at risk of elimination. Fortunately, a remarkable assist from New Zealand, who upset the Netherlands 8-7, revived China’s hopes, securing second place in the group and advancing to the playoffs. According to the rules, our playoff opponent was the second-placed team from another group, South Korea. Both teams are from Asia and familiar with each other’s playing styles, making this match extremely important — neither side could afford to lose, making it a winner-takes-all showdown!

After the match started, the first two ends ended in a 2-2 tie. In the third and fourth ends, South Korea scored two points plus a stolen point, extending their lead to 5-2. In the fifth end, China performed poorly and only scored one point, finishing the first half at 3-5. In the second half, South Korea gained one point in the sixth end and stole another in the seventh, widening the gap to 7-3. The large deficit shattered our hopes of qualifying, forcing us to concede early and end our journey in this qualifier!

Looking at the overall qualifier, China started strong but faded later, mainly due to insufficient strength. Reaching the knockout stage was partly thanks to opponents’ opportunities. This pairing saw Yu Sen perform decently, but Ye Zixuan’s level was not enough, showing a significant skill gap compared to other teams’ female players, which contributed to our defeat in Milan. Currently, Australia defeated the Czech Republic to secure the second-to-last Milan ticket, while the defeated Czech team will compete against South Korea for the final Olympic spot. Let’s wait and see — keep cheering!

Written by / Sports Novel