CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Skip Sayaka Yoshimura and Japan defeated Switzerland 7-5 in women’s round-robin play on Saturday to secure the nation’s first win of the Milan Cortina Olympic curling tournament.
After again falling behind early, as it had done in its previous two matches in Italy, Japan scored two points with the last stone advantage in the fourth end, blanked the Swiss in the fifth on a Yoshimura double take-out and then scored two points in the seventh to take the lead.
A crucial steal in the eighth at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium extended the lead to 6-4 and effectively sealed the match.
“We talked about a lot of things heading into the match against Switzerland, and we approached this game with total focus,” said skip Yoshimura.
“The entire team was able to play with confidence. We want to stay resilient through the very end, believe in ourselves, and keep fighting.”
Japan has a chance to get its second win of the tournament later on Saturday when it takes on the United States.
AloJapan.com