China retains wheelchair curling gold
As the loudest and youngest ice rink in the tournament, the defending champions China won their second Paralympic wheelchair curling gold on Saturday (March 12), where Sweden released before the final finish.
In a rematch of the World Cup final 2021, the hosts in Beijing 2022 beat the Swedes 8-3 in the same place where the teams met just a few months ago.
China had lost to Sweden, as well as Canada, in a rocky start to the round robin, but recovered to win eight games in a row, before sending Canada to the semifinals.
In the gold medal game, China took a 5-2 lead in the fifth final, when Swedish skipper Viljo Pettersson-Dahl failed to clear four Chinese stones from the house.
Cheered on by a loud but respectful audience, China pushed home its advantage with three more stones in the seventh end, which forced Sweden to let go.
“We all played very well today, we were very confident,” said Chinese skipper Wang Haito. “I’m really happy right now. We made our country proud. We did not waste all the hard work that has been put in in recent years.”
Sweden can look back on a fantastic tournament. Ⓒ OIS Photos / Bob Martin
Sweden’s silver is their best finish ever at the Paralympic Winter Games, after winning bronze in Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010.
“We made a great journey. We have gained a lot of experience over the years. It has been a fantastic ride,” says Viljo Pettersson-Dahl.
“You can not make any mistakes against them, not when they play like this. They had a perfect match today. So yes, they deserved to win. Congratulations to them.
“Of course I’m happy with a silver medal, but I was hoping for more, so I’m a little disappointed right now.”
On Friday, Canada took the bronze medal, just as they did at PyeongChang 2018. It was the best finish ever for their opponents Slovakia, who improved their sixth place in Sochi in 2014.
Another big improvement came from the United States, which last finished four years ago but moved up to fifth in Beijing 2022 with a winning record of 5-5.