Seol Ye-eun (left) and Kim Min-ji of South Korea sweep the ice during a round-robin match against Switzerland in the women’s curling tournament at the Winter Olympics at the Winter Olympics at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
South Korea lost to Switzerland 7-5 in the women’s curling tournament at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games on Tuesday for its third loss in seven matches so far.
Gim Eun-ji’s South Korea got the first point in the opening end at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, northeast of Milan, before Silvana Tirinzoni’s Switzerland put up a three-spot in the second end with Alina Paetz’s promotion takeout with her team’s final stone.
But South Korea tied the score with a point each in the third end and the fourth end.
Switzerland regained its lead with a point in the sixth end and then stole a point in the seventh end to grab a 5-3 lead after Gim’s failed double takeout attempt left a Swiss stone close to the button.
South Korea fought back with a point in the eighth end, only to see Switzerland pull ahead with two points in the ninth end with Paetz’s double takeout.
South Korea pushed for a three-point rally in the 10th end, but another double takeout by Paetz foiled that bid, forcing South Korea to settle for one point instead.
South Korea’s record dropped to 4-3, while Switzerland improved to 5-2.
The top four teams after nine round-robin matches will qualify for the semifinals scheduled for Friday.
South Korea now has two more round-robin contests left — against Sweden on Wednesday and Canada on Thursday.
Canada defeated Sweden 8-6 on Tuesday to push its record to 4-3. Sweden is now 6-1. (Yonhap)