Uijeongbu: The host South Korea emerged victorious against the world No. 1 Canada at the women's curling world championship on Wednesday. Skip Gim Eun-ji led her 10th-ranked South Korean team to an impressive 11-7 win over Rachel Homan's Canadian team during their round-robin match at the LGT World Women's Curling Championship held at the Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Rink.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea continued to perform strongly in the afternoon session, defeating Denmark 7-3, which improved their standings to 7-1 in the round robin. This positioned South Korea in second place, trailing behind Switzerland, which remains undefeated at 8-0. South Korea had previously secured five consecutive victories before experiencing a setback against Switzerland on Tuesday, but they quickly regained their winning form on Wednesday.
The championship features 13 teams competing in a round-robin format, with the top six teams advancing to the playoff round. The two best-performing teams will receive a bye to the semifinals, while the remaining four teams will vie for the last two semifinal spots. The qualification matches and semifinals are set for Saturday, with the bronze medal match and the championship final scheduled for Sunday.
South Korea is aiming for its first gold medal at the women's curling world championship, having previously won silver in 2022 and bronze in 2019 and 2024. During their match against Canada, both teams were tied at 3-3 after five ends. Gim's team took the lead by scoring three points in the sixth end. Although Canada managed to narrow the gap, South Korea secured their victory with three points in the 10th end.
Throughout the match, both teams displayed high-level performance, with South Korea achieving a shooting accuracy of 94 percent compared to Canada's 90 percent. Gim outshone Homan, a seasoned world champion, with a 94 percent success rate, which was significantly higher than Homan's.
Additionally, this world championship serves as a crucial opportunity for South Korea to secure a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. The top seven teams from the 2024 and 2025 world championships will qualify for the Milan event, and South Korea is well-positioned after earning 11 points from their bronze medal win at last year's championship.
Kim Min-ji, South Korea's vice-skip, highlighted the team's confidence and determination as key factors in their success against Homan's team. Historically, South Korea had a challenging record of 2-8 against Homan's squad, with three consecutive losses prior to this match.
Expressing her admiration for Homan and Canadian star Jennifer Jones, Kim shared that they inspired her to pursue curling 15 years ago. Despite no longer being star-struck by Homan, Kim acknowledged Homan's formidable presence on the ice.
In their match against Denmark, South Korea broke a 3-3 tie with a four-point score in the ninth end, leading Denmark to concede the match before the 10th end.