Women's curling at Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 1 round-up: Reigning champions Sweden suffer blow on wild first day of action
Great Britain defeated the Olympic champions 8-2 in seven ends with only Switzerland, USA and Canada remaining unbeaten.
Curling
Just three teams out of 10 hold unbeaten records after a topsy-turvy first day of women’s curling action at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
World champions Switzerland and the United States sit atop the round-robin table at the close of play on Thursday (10 February) after reigning champions Sweden, Great Britain and Japan all suffered defeats.
The Swiss world champions, skipped by Silvana Tirinzoni, came through tight encounters with Britain and the People’s Republic of China to make the perfect start to their campaign.
In the 10th end with the Swiss leading 6-5, Chinese skip Han Yu failed to release her penultimate rock before the hog line meaning her stone was taken out of play. The error gave Tirinzoni the chance to set up another guard, forcing Han into a difficult shot she couldn’t quite make as Switzerland won 7-5.
That left the home team with two opening day defeats after they fell 7-6 in the morning to Denmark.
Team USA also won two out of two on day one. Tabitha Peterson made surprisingly short work of ROC 9-3 in the first match of the day before returning to the Ice Cube to beat Denmark 7-5.
Beijing 2022 women's curling round up: Great Britain come back fighting after loss to Switzerland
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Britain who rebounded from their defeat to Switzerland in style with an 8-2 triumph over Olympic champions Sweden.
From a steal in the first end to a four-point score in the fourth, Eve Muirhead's rink capitalised on Swedish shortcomings to dominate.
Skip Anna Hasselborg struggled several times for weight on her shots and was duly punished by.
Another steal by Britain in the fifth end left the score at 6-1 in Team GB's favour and, after a one-point response in the sixth, Muirhead scored another two with the hammer to make it 8-2 and force the concession with three ends remaining.
Sweden are 1-1 after they beat PyeongChang bronze medallists Japan 8-5 earlier in the day.
Muirhead's miss with the final stone of the contest handed Switzerland a narrow 6-5 win in their opening match.
While most skips play fourth, Tirinzoni goes third for Switzerland with Anna Paetz on last stone duty.
With the scores tied at 5-5 going into the 10th end, Paetz put up a guard which left the four-time Olympian with a draw into the button to take the match.
But Muirhead's stone had just too much weight on it and Switzerland stole one to take victory.
Team GB return to the ice tomorrow against Republic of Korea with Sweden having a rest day.
Elsewhere, Canada got on the board with a 12-7 victory over PyeongChang 2018 silver medallists Korea.
The lead changed hands several times with Korea scoring three in the third, before Jennifer Jones responded in kind to leave Canada 5-4 in front.
The game was tied at 6-6 after six ends but, with the hammer, the Canadians scored another triple to go in front for good.
A critical missed shot by skip Kim EunJung in the eighth, which could have scored three for her team instead of one, sealed the deal for the Sochi 2014 champions.
A further steal of two in the final end gave a more generous look to the scoreboard with Canada returning to face Japan on Friday afternoon before what should be a thrilling evening showdown with Switzerland.
MORE: Canada expects men's and women's success after mixed doubles disappointment
Women’s curling at Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 1 results in full:
- Switzerland 6-5 Great Britain
- Denmark 7-6 People's Republic of China
- Sweden 8-5 Japan
- United States of America 9-3 ROC
- Republic of Korea 7-12 Canada
- Great Britain 8-2 Sweden
- United States of America 7-5 Denmark
- People's Republic of China 5-7 Switzerland
You can find the round robin standings after today’s action here.
Schedule: Women's curling at Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 2
Here is the schedule for Friday 11 February (all times local China Standard Time):
- 14:05 Women's Round Robin Session 3 - United States of America v People's Republic of China
- 14:05 Women's Round Robin Session 3 - Canada v Japan
- 14:05 Women's Round Robin Session 3 - Switzerland v ROC
- 14:05 Women's Round Robin Session 3 - Republic of Korea v Great Britain