Curlers–the sporting kind–rock Winter Games ice with huge upset
There have been many punch lines crafted about the sport of curling among casual sports fans. And in a country where a trip to the salon often requires a reservation, curling is more associated with work done on hair than on ice.
Perhaps it is time to get serious about it.
The Philippine mixed doubles team authored a pair of stunning results in the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, making people take notice of the sport.
“We are definitely the underdog team here but our athletes are here to compete and they are proud to represent the country,” Curling Pilipinas secretary general Jarryd Bello said on Tuesday after the duo of Marc Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein stunned Asia No. 1 South Korea, 12-6, in Group B action.
South Korea, represented by Seong Ji-hoon and Kim Kyeong-ae, is ranked No. 15 in mixed doubles in the world. Kim, in fact, is a silver medalist from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and flew to China with lofty expectations. But the top-seeded pair could not find its groove against the Filipinos, especially after Pfister and Dubberstein got off to a hot start.
“When we went 5-0, we got that psychological advantage,” Bello told the Inquirer via a phone call from Harbin later Tuesday evening.
Firmly in medal hunt
The unranked Filipinos also brought down world No. 45 Kyrgyzstan, 10-2, to raise their record to 2-0 and position themselves firmly in the medal hunt.
But the duo is not loading up on too much confidence yet.
“We’re not taking anyone for granted,” Bello quoted Dubberstein as saying. “We’ll play our hardest, one game at a time.”
The 12 teams in the mixed doubles division are divided into two groups competing in a single round-robin format. The top finisher in each group earns an outright spot in the semifinals while the second and third placers in Group A and Group B square off in a crossover quarterfinals.
“It’s indeed a delightful news and a great start for Team Philippines,” Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino said after receving word of the victory just before he flew to China to join the Philippine delegation.
The Philippines is bracketed with Korea, Kyrgyzstan, China, Kazakhstan and Qatar in Group B. Group A is composed of Japan, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Mongolia.
“We have a chance to secure a medal we beat one of the top teams already,” Bello said.
Pfister and Dubberstein are slated to take on Qatar and China on Wednesday before facing Kazakhstan on Thursday.
