Harbin: South Korea claimed silver in the mixed doubles curling event at the Asian Winter Games on Saturday after narrowly losing to Japan in the tense final. Kim Kyeong-ae and Seong Ji-hoon fell to Tori Koana and Go Aoki 7-6 at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the teams traded two points each in the first two ends. With Japan holding the hammer, South Korea stole two points to begin the final after Go Aoki failed to execute a takeout with the last Japanese stone. However, in the second end, Kim couldn't quite push a Japanese stone out of the house, allowing Aoki to place a second Japanese rock in the scoring area with his last shot and grab two points.

The match continued with a seesaw battle. South Korea secured a point in the third end thanks to Kim's draw with the last stone, only to see Japan take the lead 4-3 with two points in the fourth end. Japan widened the gap to 5-3 after the fifth end, as South Korea struggled with its shots.

South Korea managed to score a point in the sixth end and stole two points in the seventh end, credited to Kim's deft shotmaking. Nonetheless, Japan sealed the victory with two points in the eighth and final end, after Kim failed to remove a couple of Japanese rocks with her last shot.

Kim expressed her disappointment at not achieving the gold but remained optimistic. "We've improved from last month and we can only keep getting better from here," said Kim, who became a mixed doubles partner with Seong last year. At 31, Kim previously won silver at the 2017 Asian Winter Games with the women's team, while this was Seong's first Asiad appearance at age 27.

Both athletes acknowledged the pressure of the gold medal game, with Seong noting, "I don't think I performed as well as I wanted. But this will help me prepare for future competitions." He looks forward to the world championships in April.

Koana and Aoki are ranked No. 5 in the mixed doubles world rankings, while Kim and Seong are ranked No. 59. The mixed doubles event made its Asian Games debut here, and South Korea aims to add medals in the women's and men's events as the seven-day Asiad continues.