Milan: South Korea will have athletes competing in figure skating's team event and in the mixed doubles curling tournament on Saturday, the first day following the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Cha Jun-hwan will represent South Korea in the men's singles segment of the team event in figure skating, with the short program starting at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Milano Ice Skating Arena in the northern Italian city of Milan. That is 3:45 a.m. Sunday in Korea time.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in the team event, 10 countries with qualified skaters in at least three of the four disciplines -- the men's and women's singles, pairs, and ice dance -- are eligible. South Korea doesn't have a pairs team but still entered the team event, as it will give its skaters a chance to get a feel for the ice at the venue ahead of their individual events next week.
The round-robin competition in the mixed doubles curling will chug along Saturday, as South Korea's Kim Seon-yeong and Jeong Yeong-seok face the Czech team of Julie Zelingrova and Vt Chabicovsky. It will be South Korea's fifth match out of nine in the round robin. The top four teams at the end of this phase will advance to the semifinals.