Italy record first win on day five

Day five saw Italy’s women’s team claim their first win of the competition, against Canada, and Norway upset Switzerland’s winning streak. In the men’s competition, Scotland suffered their first loss when they were beaten 9-4 by Italy.

Women’s competition

Italy faced Canada in their only game of the day, in which they earned their first win of the competition. In a game that lasted nine ends, Italy stayed in control, leading 6-4 going into that ninth end. A missed shot by Canada to take-out two Italian stones let Italy steal a further two points and take the win, 8-4.

Speaking after the game, Italy skip Rebecca Mariani said, “We really needed that victory against Canada. We struggled at the start, but this win feels like the end of a frustrating stretch, and we hope to keep the momentum going in the upcoming games.”

Canada later went on to earn an 8-2 win against China. In the fourth end, Canada were ahead by 2-1, and when skip Allyson MacNutt played a draw to score three, she secured her team’s win in eight ends.

Team Canada © World Curling / Stephen Fisher

In their first session, China earned an 8-5 victory over Latvia. In the final play of the game, Latvia attempted a draw to level the score and force an extra end, but it was unsuccessful, letting China steal a further two and win.

In the morning session, Germany faced Japan, walking away with an 8-5 win.

After this game, Germany skip Sara Messenzehl said, “We were pretty nervous before the game, because we had a really frustrating Sunday due to the two losses. But we used the off-day to recover and prepare ourselves for the next sessions.

“Bouncing back today was really important for us so we could regain a positive mindset and are now excited for the next days.”

Bounce back they did, as they continued their winning ways in their evening draw against Sweden. Germany were down 7-5 going into the tenth end, but when fourth player Kim Sutor played a tap to nestle her final stone next to two others, she scored her team three points to win the game, 8-7.

Germany celebrate their last-stone win against Sweden © World Curling / Stephen Fisher

Japan’s late game saw them suffer a 10-4 loss against Korea. By the fourth end, Korea were already up 6-0 before Japan played a take-out to score their first two. Despite the effort to come back, the Japanese couldn’t recover, ending the game after eight ends.

Norway upset Switzerland’s perfect record in the evening draw when they beat the table leaders 11-6. They set the tone of the game in the first end when tactical play left the house wide open for Norway skip Torild Bjoernstad to lay her final stone and score five. After nine ends, the Swiss shook hands.

Following the game, Bjoernstad said, “It was a really good game. We’re feeling confident and we’re in a good flow.

“We’re just keeping our mindset here, on the round robin games. One game at a time.”

Men’s competition

Scotland suffered their first loss of the competition so far when they were beaten 9-4 by Italy in the afternoon session. Until the tenth end, the score was 6-4 in favour of Italy, but a when Scotland were left without a shot for two, Italy stole three points.

After the game, Italy’s lead Francesco Vigliani said, “We are really happy with our performance because now we’re at the top of the rankings, which feels absolutely great. The support from our fans has been amazing, and we’re incredibly thankful for it. We truly appreciate it!”

Team Italy © World Curling / Céline Stucki

Switzerland and Canada’s head-to-head ended in a 9-7 win for Canada, and they now sit with a three win, three loss record.

Japan faced United States, coming out on top with a final score of 8-6. Japan had a clear lead going into the ninth end (8-5) and after scoring a further one, United States conceded.

Reflecting on their win, Japan’s third player Michitani Hinata said,“We were well prepared for this game, and I’m pleased to see that our efforts have paid off. Now we’ve won three games in a row, and we’re thrilled about it.”

Team Japan © World Curling / Stephen Fisher

Denmark and Korea, who both had two wins and three losses so far, played each other in the afternoon session. In the tenth end, Denmark were ahead by one point, but when Korea skip Kim Daehyun removed two Danish stones out of the house, Korea scored two, securing their 10-9 win.