(C) World Curling
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – The South Korean women’s curling team clinched its first victory of the 2026 Milano-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics on Friday, delivering a dominant performance against the host nation, Italy.
The South Korean squad—led by skip Kim Eun-ji, with third Kim Min-ji, second Kim Su-ji, lead Seol Ye-eun, and alternate Seol Ye-ji—secured a 7-2 victory during the second session of the round-robin stage held at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
Match Highlights
After a tough 4-8 loss to the United States in their opening match, South Korea entered the rink with renewed focus, quickly establishing control over the Italian side.
Early Lead: South Korea broke the deadlock in the 2nd end with a single point and extended their lead to 2-0 in the 3rd end despite playing without the hammer (stealing a point).
Pressure Mounts: Another point in the 4th end brought the score to 3-0. While Italy managed to get on the scoreboard with a point in the 5th end, South Korea remained composed.
The Decisive Blow: The turning point came in the 6th end, where South Korea executed a masterclass in strategy and precision, scoring a massive 4 points to blow the game open at 7-1.
Conclusion: Italy managed to claw back one point in the 7th end but, facing a 5-point deficit with limited ends remaining, conceded the match.
Current Standing
With this win, South Korea improves its round-robin record to 1-1. The convincing victory against the host nation is expected to provide significant momentum as the team moves forward in the tournament.
The "Kim Eun-ji skip" team, often referred to as 'Gimdal' (Team Gim), is aiming to replicate or surpass the legendary "Garlic Girls'" silver-medal success from the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
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