South Korea secures semifinal berth in women's curling
Arirang News
2018-02-21
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South Korea's women's curling team is winning a lot of fans both here and around the world.
They have sealed their spot in the final four... making them the first Korean curling team -- male or female-- to ever qualify for an Olympic semifinal.
The newly-famous five will play against athletes from Russia in a couple of hours,... with their qualification out of the round robin already assured.
For more on what's behind their success,... Won Jung hwan reports.
10 countries have been facing each other in the round-robin competition to enter the semifinal rounds,… and South Korea's female curling team on Tuesday achieved its sixth victory by beating the U.S. and securing the first spot in the semifinal rounds at PyeongChang, despite still having two more games ahead on Wednesday against the Olympic Athletes from Russia and Denmark.
The Olympic host team has racked up a near-perfect run of victories over Canada, Switzerland and Great Britain, three of the world's four great powers in curling,… while also beating Sweden which had been undefeated during these games.
Team Korea has certainly surprised many curling fans, rising to global fame as one of the underdog stories of these winter Olympics.
So how did South Korea, which ranked eighth globally, built a phenomenal women's curling team in a country that has zero tradition nor experience in this discipline?
"Before the Olympics, the team went through intensive trainings,…in addition to advance data analysis and strategic planning, they've become more disciplined and very well prepared."
The team had previously stated that the experience the team built by facing top contenders before PyeongChang contributed tremendously in increasing the team's overall confidence.
"It was good to learn and prepare for the technical aspects of the game, but we also learn about control and pressure, something that is learned only by competing."
But according to an expert, there is more than meets the eyes.
"Most of the team members come from a similar background, in terms of education and region, so they easily bonded together as a team. That, I believe, has been a crucial factor that helped them thrive and show they best."
Meanwhile, South Korea's male curling team on Tuesday secured its third victory at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in a match against Switzerland, but still fell short of moving on to the semifinals. Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
They have sealed their spot in the final four... making them the first Korean curling team -- male or female-- to ever qualify for an Olympic semifinal.
The newly-famous five will play against athletes from Russia in a couple of hours,... with their qualification out of the round robin already assured.
For more on what's behind their success,... Won Jung hwan reports.
10 countries have been facing each other in the round-robin competition to enter the semifinal rounds,… and South Korea's female curling team on Tuesday achieved its sixth victory by beating the U.S. and securing the first spot in the semifinal rounds at PyeongChang, despite still having two more games ahead on Wednesday against the Olympic Athletes from Russia and Denmark.
The Olympic host team has racked up a near-perfect run of victories over Canada, Switzerland and Great Britain, three of the world's four great powers in curling,… while also beating Sweden which had been undefeated during these games.
Team Korea has certainly surprised many curling fans, rising to global fame as one of the underdog stories of these winter Olympics.
So how did South Korea, which ranked eighth globally, built a phenomenal women's curling team in a country that has zero tradition nor experience in this discipline?
"Before the Olympics, the team went through intensive trainings,…in addition to advance data analysis and strategic planning, they've become more disciplined and very well prepared."
The team had previously stated that the experience the team built by facing top contenders before PyeongChang contributed tremendously in increasing the team's overall confidence.
"It was good to learn and prepare for the technical aspects of the game, but we also learn about control and pressure, something that is learned only by competing."
But according to an expert, there is more than meets the eyes.
"Most of the team members come from a similar background, in terms of education and region, so they easily bonded together as a team. That, I believe, has been a crucial factor that helped them thrive and show they best."
Meanwhile, South Korea's male curling team on Tuesday secured its third victory at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in a match against Switzerland, but still fell short of moving on to the semifinals. Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
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