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Korea claim silver in men's curling after 5-3 loss to the Philippines in Asiad final

Published: 14 Feb. 2025, 13:07

Kim Eun-bin from the national Korean men's curling team shakes hands with the Philippine national team after a 5-3 loss in the Asian Winter Games curling final in Harbin, China, on Friday, Feb. 14. [YONHAP]

Korea fell to the Philippines to take silver in men's curling at the Asian Winter Games in China on Friday.

Led by skip Lee Jae-beom, Korea suffered its first loss of the competition when the Philippines pulled out a 5-3 win in the gold medal game at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in Harbin.

Korea wasn't as sharp with its shotmaking as it had been in earlier matches, including in a 6-1 win over the same Philippines team during the round-robin phase on Sunday.

Korea had won two of the past three men's curling gold medals in Asian Winter Games before this year.

The Philippines scored the first point in the second end, with Lee unable to execute a hit and roll to take out an opponent rock.

Korea tied the game at 1-1 in the third end, as Lee atoned for his earlier miscue with a successful draw with the final stone.

But then the Philippines grabbed two points in the fourth end, with skip Marc Pfister's takeout giving his side a 3-1 lead.

Lee's draw to the center of the house gave Korea a point in the fifth end, and the team pulled even at 3-3 with another point in the sixth end after Pfister's double takeout attempt went awry.

The Philippines responded immediately with a point in the seventh end and took a 4-3 lead into the final frame.

In the eighth end, Korea pushed its second-to-last stone into the house but farther from the center than a Philippines stone already in the area. With his last rock, Pfister placed a guard to protect its stone in the middle.

Needing a point to force the extra session, Lee boldly went for a takeout that would have given his side two points for the gold, but the stone hit a guard on its way toward the house instead. That gave the Philippines one final point for the victory.

The Korean women's team will go for gold later on Friday, the final day of the ninth Winter Asiad.

Yonhap