Wheelchair curlers beat Canada for second win in Beijing

Korea's Baek Hye-jin prepares to take her shot during a round robin match against Canada at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Korean wheelchair curling team beat Canada 9-4 in their fifth game of the round robin tournament at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics on Tuesday.

Korea were able to open the scoring in the second end, adding one point in the third end and two points in the fourth end. Though Korea conceded two points in the fifth end, they were able to get four points in the sixth end to take a six point lead. The match ended 9-4.

Korea had a 79 percent draw accuracy rate while Canada had 78 percent. Korea's take-out accuracy rate was also higher, at 49 percent to Canada's 46 percent.

Korea got off to a slow start at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics, dropping their first two games of the round robin tournament.

The team lost a tough first game of the wheelchair curling tournament to Latvia 8-4 on Saturday evening, struggling to come back from a big three-stone hit in the third end that left them fighting back for the rest of the game.

Korea continued to struggle on Sunday morning, losing a close-fought game 8-7 to Switzerland. That luck turned in the afternoon, however, as the Korean squad beat Norway 9-4 with a huge four-stone seventh end sealing the victory.

On Monday, Korea took a loss in their fourth game to China, despite taking three points in the second end. China was able to take an insurmountable five points in the sixth end.

With five games played, Korea now sits tied for seventh place with two wins and three losses. As of press time, Korea was scheduled to face Slovakia on Tuesday afternoon.

Wheelchair curling differs from the Olympic curling sport in a number of ways. Instead of brooms, wheelchair curlers use delivery sticks to slide the stones. A teammate steadies the athlete’s wheelchair while they slide the stone to help them stay still and improve accuracy. With nobody sweeping, it all comes down to the shooter. As a result, the team’s discussions before each shot are a crucial part of the sport.

While in the Olympics there are three different curling contests — women’s, men’s and mixed doubles — in wheelchair curling there is just one, mixed team. Each team is required to have at least one player from each gender.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]