After two intense semi-finals on Saturday afternoon, defending champions Canada will face Switzerland in a re-run of last year’s final at the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship in Uijeongbu, Korea. The two powerhouses will compete for gold and the world title in Sunday afternoon’s final at 16:00.
Canada edges Korea in extra end thriller
In a hard-fought battle, Canada defeated Korea 6-5 after an extra end to secure their spot in the final. Canada had earlier beaten Scotland 10-4 in a qualification game, while Korea earned a direct semi-final spot by finishing second in the round-robin.
Korea held a 3-2 lead when, in the sixth end, Canada’s skip Rachel Homan got forced to one to tie the game at 3-3. The match went into an extra end, where Korea’s Gim Eunji missed a double take-out attempt, giving Canada the decisive point for a 6-5 victory.
After the game, Homan reflected on the tense encounter, saying, “It’s tough when you think you’re so close to being out and you’ve worked hard all week. I was able to keep us in the game, I was just so pumped.”
Looking ahead to the final, she added, “It’s just more of the same for us (tomorrow). We know it’s going to be a battle. We’re just so excited to be in the final, we’re going to give it our all.”
Switzerland secures spot with dramatic win over China
Switzerland, the round-robin leaders, advanced to their sixth consecutive world championship final by defeating China 4-2. China had previously edged Sweden 8-7 in the qualification round.
Switzerland started strong, with fourth player Alina Paetz executing a hit for two points in the first end. China responded by blanking the next six ends in a strategic move to keep the game close. In the tenth end, with Switzerland leading 3-2, China’s skip Rui Wang fell short on her final draw, allowing the Swiss to steal one point and seal the 4-2 victory.
Following the win, Swiss skip Silvana Tirinzoni commented, “That was the fastest game I’ve ever played in, and also for the most part, it was quite boring, but that’s probably the way they wanted to play. They wanted to keep it close and just get one little mistake. We just needed to stay focused.”
She added, “I don’t think it was boring at the end.”
Switzerland’s victory was secured by a critical double take-out from Paetz in the final end. Tirinzoni praised her teammate’s performance, saying, “We had three options (with our final shot), so it was whatever Alina felt more comfortable with. We always have faith in her and she makes all those big shots, and we needed her this time.”
Looking ahead to the final, she said, “Tomorrow, we’ll just take it shot by shot. We’re all tired, but everyone on the ice wants to win. We just have to stay focused and give it our best.”
Korea, China for bronze
On Sunday morning, Korea will take on China in the bronze medal match, while later in the day, Switzerland and Canada will battle for gold in a highly anticipated final.
