Curling-Sweden borders Canada in battle with heavyweights
BEIJING, February 12 (Reuters) – Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden hung on for a narrow victory over Jennifer Jones-led Canada in the battle between the two most recent Olympic women’s champions, while the 2018 medalists South Korea and Japan also won at the National Aquatics Center on Saturday.
The Swedes, who won gold four years ago in Pyeongchang, bounced back from their 8-2 draw with Great Britain to take Canada 7-6 on a measurement at the end to give the Sochi 2014 winners their second straight round-robin defeat in Beijing.
“I think of Jennifer as one of the greatest of all time,” Hasselborg said after facing Jones on the Olympic stage for the first time.
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“I would not say it’s a rivalry, I have so much respect for Jennifer. I love playing against her. It’s always a great fight. We knew it would come down to the last stone, and it did.”
Japan made a fantastic comeback and defeated Denmark 8-7 in an exciting competition where ship Satsuki Fujisawa delivered a bold double take with the last stone for three points to defeat the victory.
South Korea’s “Garlic Girls” blew past the Russian Olympic Committee after a plethora of points in the middle of the match secured a score of 9-5, with the 10th finish shortly after the Russians ran out of stones to overcome the deficit.
Teams play nine games in the round-robin stage, which continues later on Saturday, with the top four advancing to the semifinals next week.
The men’s competition continues later in the day with Sweden taking on Canada.
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Reporting by Hritika Sharma; Edited by Ken Ferris
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.