9 March 2026
Wheelchair mixed doubles semi-finals set at Milano Cortina 2026
Before the last wheelchair mixed doubles round-robin session on Monday, three semi-final spots were vacant and six teams had a chance to take them. Except for already qualified People’s Republic of China and hosts Italy — who were out of the play-off picture — all participating teams could make it to the medal games.
Republic of Korea versus Estonia
Both teams had play-off chances if they won this match-up, but Estonia knew their fate wasn’t entirely in their hands. Team Korea put on an exceptional performance, and were leading 6-0 after four ends. They kept their momentum going in the second half and won, 10-0, in only six ends.
With this victory, Team Korea qualified for the play-offs. Afterwards, Baek Hyejin said, “We were nervous, but now we are very-very happy. We played really well today.”
Her teammate, Lee Yongsuk added, “She helps me a lot! I play well, because of her. Our unit works very well!”
United States of America versus People’s Republic of China
United States of America could only keep their semi-final hopes alive if they beat People’s Republic of China and other results fell in their favour. United States of America were leading, 3-0 after two. They stole another point in the third when Wang Meng was not successful with her tap-back attempt. Team China were trailing, 0-4, when they called their Power Play in the fourth. They put four on the board to tie the game at 4-4 before the break.
People’s Republic of China stole a single in the fifth to take the lead for the first time, 5-4. They stole another point in the sixth when United States’ Laura Dwyer wasn’t perfect with her last draw. In the seventh, United States of America scored two with their Power Play to tie the game, 6-6. In the eighth, Team China’s Wang Meng came up heavy with her last draw, United States of America stole a single, won the game (7-6) and qualified for the semi-finals.
Afterwards, an emotional Stephen Emt said, “We had the opportunity to play against the number one team in the world in the Paralympic Games in Italy. It doesn’t get any greater than that. We won. One of my life slogans is ‘adversity is an opportunity to succeed’. We just want a chance. And we got it, and we got it against a great Chinese team, great curlers. I told Laura [Dwyer] before the very last shot, ‘she probably gonna pin it’, but I told her ‘I love you, no matter what happens with this shot, I’m proud of what we’ve done today, I’m proud of what we’ve done this week, we’ve been successful’. Now we’re gonna flush that, and we’re gonna have business tomorrow!”
Italy versus Great Britain
Great Britain needed to win against hosts Italy, who knew that a play-off spot is out of reach for them. Italy started the game better, scoring four in the first end. They followed that up with a single steal when Britain’s Joanna Butterfield was unsuccessful with her promotion take-out attempt.
After trading two-point scores in the next two ends, Italy were leading, 7-2, at the break. Italy scored three on their Power Play in the sixth for a 10-4 lead. Great Britain had an outstanding comeback, and scored six points in the next two ends for 10-10 after eight. Italy scored one with a hammer in the extra end to win the game and pick up their second win.
Latvia versus Japan
Current world champions, Japan played Latvia, with both teams looking for their fourth win of the round robin. Japan needed to win to qualify, whereas Latvia not only needed to win, but needed other results to go their way.
Latvia started with a score of two and a steal of one, when Japan’s Ogawa Aki missed her promotion take-out attempt. In the third, Ogawa missed her double take-out attempt, and Japan gave up two more. Latvia were leading, 5-2, at the break. In the fifth, Latvia put up a big score of four for a 9-2 lead. In the sixth, Japan called for Power Play and scored two, 9-4. After a single by Latvia in the seventh, Japan conceded defeat with a 10-4 final score.
Latvia had to wait until the end of the Italy versus Great Britain game to learn they qualified for the semi-finals.
Afterwards, a delighted Polina Rozkova added, “Today, we felt calm. It was the calmest game for us. When we learned that we are in, we were very glad. We are very thankful for team Italy. In general we were supporting them because we are friends, I think that Italy is one of the most friendly teams in mixed doubles. But they are really good friends, especially with Agris.”
The semi-finals will take place on Tuesday at 14:35 (CET). Number one ranked People’s Republic of China will play fourth-seeded Latvia, while second-placed United States of America will play third-ranked Republic of Korea.
Click here for the final round-robin rankings.
On Tuesday, two mixed team round-robin sessions will also take place at the Cortina Olympic Stadium.
Follow the live scores from the wheelchair mixed teams at Milano Cortina 2026 here.
Follow the live scores from the wheelchair mixed doubles at Milano Cortina 2026 here.
Find the full wheelchair curling schedule and results here.
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