Korea cruises past China 12-5 in women's curling

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Mon, September 25, 2023 | 02:03

2018 PyeongChang

Korea cruises past China 12-5 in women's curling

Posted : 2018-02-18 21:19

Updated : 2018-02-18 21:48

Korea's skip Kim Eunjung, center, throws a stone during a women's curling match against China at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, Sunday. Korea defeated China 12-5. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korea defeated China in the women's curling event at the PyeongChang Olympics, Sunday.

In the Gangneung Curling Centre, the Korean women's team won 12-5 over China to clinch its fourth round robin win.

At the PyeongChang Olympics, Korea has surprised the world as the world No. 8 defeated world No. 1 Canada, No. 2 Switzerland and No. 4 the U.K. China sits No. 10 in the rankings. The team took a 7-5 defeat to Japan on Thursday, though.

Among 10 teams in the round-robin preliminary round, only the top four teams can qualify for the playoffs. Overall, Korea shares second place with Japan among 10 teams while Sweden leads the standings with five wins. China and the U.K. rank fourth with 3-3.

Comprised of skip Kim Eun-jung, Kim Kyeong-ae, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Yeong-mi and Kim Cho-hi, Korea had revenge for their 12-5 defeat to China at last year's Sapporo Asian Winter Games.

Filling its roster with curlers surnamed Kim, the team is also "Team Kim." The local Korean press has dubbed Team Kim the "Garlic Girls" because all of them attended same high school in Uiseong, some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, best known for garlic production.

In the match, Korea got off to a good start scoring three points in the first end while it allowed only one point at the second end.

The host country scored multiple points again, scoring three in the third and four for a 10-2 lead at the break.

China cut the lead to five after scoring two and one in the sixth and seventh, but Korean skip Kim was able to land her slide for two points in the eighth to make it 12-5.

At the team's first curling appearance at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Korea ended up with three wins. After producing the team's best-ever record, Kim Seon-yeong said it is too early to reach a conclusion.

"We still have four games to play. I hope we can sit atop at the end after trying harder," Kim said.

Korea will play Sweden on Monday at 9:05 a.m., the United States on Tuesday at 2:05 p.m., Russia on Wednesday at 9:05 a.m. and Denmark on the same day at 8:05 p.m. If the host country gets two more wins, they are expected to advance to the playoffs.

baekby@ktimes.com