WMXCC2016: Russia, Scotland, Sweden and Korea move into semifinals

Pairings of the semifinal matches were determined at the World Mixed Curling Championships in Kazan.

Japan-Sweden, 6-7

Team Japan exhibited an impressive play in the final ends. They practically caught up with their opponents after a disappointing beginning but they failed to score two important stones at the end of the game. As a result, Team Sweden moved to the next stage.

“Yes, we got unfocused; our strength was not enough for the entire match; something happened and we fell apart. But the main thing is that we won and reached the semifinal. It means that we've completed our intermediate goal; it’s better than nothing… But the God have saved us at this point because you cannot play like this against Team Scotland. Of course, it would have been great if we played against your team in the final and won,” summed up one of players of the Swedish team. 

Russia-Switzerland, 4-3

Russia started off not very well. The 0-3 score on the board put all fans on the edge of their seats. The Russian curlers were dazed and confused; the game was not going well that’s why they had to take a timeout. The senior coach of the Russian national team, Vasily Gudin, managed to bring the team’s fighting spirit back and they succeeded to grit out the victory.

“We screw up so that we can solve our problems heroically… It’s the typical Russian way, won’t you agree? I cannot explain what happened in the first end and later on… We started off well in each round but we made stupid mistakes in the end. We were able to deal with our opponents’ hammer and we knew how. We burned ourselves out. I hope and I believe that we will not repeat the same mistakes with Korea, although the team is, of course, very strong. A weak team would have never made it to the semifinal.”

“It doesn’t matter who we will play against in the final; most importantly, we need to make it there. It’s useless to choose between Scotland and Sweden; they are the curling elite. In the match against Korea we will show everything we are capable of. I hope that fans will support us; today it was amazing. They inspired us in the right moments. Thank you!” the player of the Russian national team, Daniil Goryachev, said after the match.

Germany-Korea, 4-6

The German team had been considered the favourite before the match but everything can happen at the world championship. In the beginning of the match, Korea scored three stones against Germany’s two. Having captured the lead, they didn’t let it slip away until the end of the game.

“It was a good match; we’ve invested much effort to win a victory. We deserved our place in the semifinal. I know that Russia is a good team, and they have home-field advantage. But we believe in ourselves and in a good ending,” explained the skip of Team Korea, Lee Kibok.

Scotland-Canada, 6-5

It was a classic matchup in the curling world. Two teams that had been expected to face off in the final met in the semi. They had battled their way to the quarterfinals but one of them had to stop their run of success.

“It’s sport. Today you win, tomorrow you lose. Our unbeaten path was going to end some day but we hoped for another outcome. Now we need time to take some rest from curling, to sort everything out. Defeats make us stronger, and stuff like that,” Team Canada’s second player, Brad Thiessen, said in the interview.

“Yes, we did it, I still cannot believe it! Canada was unbeatable but we stopped them. I know that Sweden also continues its winning streak. Their recent matches were tough but they will have a different attitude towards our game. I believe in our victory and look forward to the final match against the Russian national team. Playing against the hosts is always something special. Especially that you have so many fans here. I’m sorry but we will have to upset you,” said the second player of Team Scotland, Bobby Lammie. 

The semifinal pairings are as follows:

Russia – Korea

Scotland – Sweden