By Baek Byung-yeul
The Korean women's curling team defeated strong gold medal hopeful team Canada 8-6, Thursday.
In the women's round robin session at the Gangneung Curling Center, No. 8 Korea took an early 4-1 lead, but the world's top ranked team overcame the deficit making the score even by the seventh end.
However, Korea added one point in the eighth end and three more points in the ninth end while Canada could only add two points in the 10th end.
The Korean team is dubbed "Team Kim" as all five members of team have the same surname. The team is comprised of skip (or captain) Kim Eun-jung, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Kyeong-ae and Kim Cho-hi.
After winning, Kim Eun-jung said she concentrated on her shots and working with her teammates. "Since it was the first game, we were really nervous, but I was totally concentrating on my shots and our teamwork, which resulted in the win. At the beginning of the game I was really worried since we started falling behind, but by the end of the game, our teamwork and cooperation led to the win."
Though she felt the pressure playing against curling powerhouse Canada, Kim said she felt her team could win as they didn't miss the chances they created.
"There was a lot of pressure since Canada is one of the best teams in the world, but curling depends a lot on the shots and the opportunities the team makes for itself. We took our chances and took our shots," Kim said.
The top four teams out of 10 in the round robin session will qualify for the semifinals. Korea will have another preliminary game with Japan later this evening at 8:05 p.m.
The Korean women's curling team defeated strong gold medal hopeful team Canada 8-6, Thursday.
In the women's round robin session at the Gangneung Curling Center, No. 8 Korea took an early 4-1 lead, but the world's top ranked team overcame the deficit making the score even by the seventh end.
However, Korea added one point in the eighth end and three more points in the ninth end while Canada could only add two points in the 10th end.
The Korean team is dubbed "Team Kim" as all five members of team have the same surname. The team is comprised of skip (or captain) Kim Eun-jung, Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Kyeong-ae and Kim Cho-hi.
After winning, Kim Eun-jung said she concentrated on her shots and working with her teammates. "Since it was the first game, we were really nervous, but I was totally concentrating on my shots and our teamwork, which resulted in the win. At the beginning of the game I was really worried since we started falling behind, but by the end of the game, our teamwork and cooperation led to the win."
Though she felt the pressure playing against curling powerhouse Canada, Kim said she felt her team could win as they didn't miss the chances they created.
"There was a lot of pressure since Canada is one of the best teams in the world, but curling depends a lot on the shots and the opportunities the team makes for itself. We took our chances and took our shots," Kim said.
The top four teams out of 10 in the round robin session will qualify for the semifinals. Korea will have another preliminary game with Japan later this evening at 8:05 p.m.
