Korea loses to Switzerland in women’s world curling semifinal

South Korea has failed to reach its first-ever final in the women’s world curling championship after losing to Switzerland in the semifinal on Sunday.

Korea lost to Switzerland 9-6 at the Ford World Women’s Curling Championship in Canada after having advanced to the semifinal by upsetting the world No.1 Canada 4-3 on Saturday.

The Koreans were 5-3 down after the sixth end, but they fought back with one point in the seventh and a steal of two in the eighth. In the ninth, however, Korea’s skip Kim Ji-sun missed an easy chance to score, while the Swiss side added three points to end the Koreans’ dreams of reaching the final.

Despite the defeat, the Koreans are enjoying their best campaign at the women’s world curling championship, making their first-ever playoff appearance in the world championship.

Korea has appeared in just four women’s world championships since 2005. It won three games out of 11 two years ago, and at last year’s championship in Denmark it won two games out of 11.

This year, Korea has won nine out of 14 games so far, recording six wins more than the previous best.

“It’s my second experience (at the world championship) and we’re proud to be where we are,” Kim said.

Korea has one more game to play to cap this year’s world championship ― it meets the host Canada again in the bronze-medal game, while Switzerland plays Sweden for the gold on Monday.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldm.com)