South Korea Women's Curling Edges China 10-9 in Thriller

South Korea's women's curling team (world ranking No. 3) secured a crucial victory over China (world ranking No. 11) in a seesaw battle at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics qualifying tournament.

The Korean national team from Gyeonggi Provincial Office—comprising skip Kim Eun-ji, third Kim Min-ji, second Kim Su-ji, lead Seol Ye-eun, and fifth Seol Ye-ji—defeated China 10-9 in their sixth round-robin match at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on the 16th (local time).

South Korea now stands at 4 wins and 2 losses, tied for second place with Switzerland and the United States. Sweden leads the standings with a perfect 6-0 record. The women's curling competition features 10 teams in a round-robin format, with the top four advancing to semifinals in a knockout tournament for medals.

Korea seized early control with a big 3-point third end. A massive 4-point fifth end pushed their lead to 7-2, and victory seemed within easy reach. However, China clawed back with 3 points in the sixth end to make it 7-5, then added another in the seventh to close to 7-6. Korea scored 1 in the eighth end to extend to 8-6, but surrendered 3 points in the ninth end while holding hammer, allowing China to take a 9-8 lead.

The match was decided in the final 10th end. China deployed a two-guard strategy with stones positioned at center, while Korea methodically cleared the guards to maintain control.

Skip Kim Eun-ji delivered the decisive moment. With her seventh stone, she executed a spectacular shot that removed two Chinese stones from the house. China placed their final stone as shot rock, hoping for a Korean mistake. Kim remained composed, calmly removing China's shot stone with her final throw to score 2 points and seal the victory.

The team faces world No. 1 Switzerland in their seventh round-robin match at 10:05 PM Korean time on the 17th.