Olympics-Curling-Hasselborg’s Sweden lose to Canada but progress to semi-finals

By Aadi Nair

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden saw their unbeaten run at the Winter Olympics ended on Tuesday when they lost 8-6 to Canada but, despite the defeat, other results meant they were able to seal their spot in the semi-finals.

Sweden won their first six round-robin games but were beaten by Rachel Homan’s Canada, the two-times world champions, in their first loss of the competition.

“What! I didn’t know. Oh, wow. Okay, this made me very happy,” said Hasselborg, when informed that her team had qualified for the semi-finals.

“We’re qualified. Woo! Okay, that’s good news and also a little weird, because I’m very disappointed with my own performance there. But that was a bandage!

“I think this game could have gone either way, with two teams trying to figure it out. It’s just like proof that we have done something really right, all the other games.”

Hasselborg’s team have now reached the semi-finals for three straight Games, winning gold in Pyeongchang in 2018 and bronze in Beijing four years ago.

Canada’s win, their fourth, means they are joint-fourth alongside South Korea. 

“Every game here is huge for us,” Homan said. 

“We have to keep playing our game, keep staying within ourselves. We’re just taking it one shot at a time right now.” 

There is also a tie for second in the standings between Switzerland and the United States, who both won on Tuesday.

Silvana Tirinzoni’s Switzerland, four-times world champions, beat South Korea 7-5, while the Tabitha Peterson-led U.S. clinched a 10-3 win over Denmark.

Hosts Italy claimed their second win of the competition, beating Japan 8-6.

Teams play nine matches in the round-robin stage, which continues on Wednesday. The top four advance to the semi-finals on Friday.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair; editing by Clare Fallon)