▲ South Korean skip Kim Eun-jung (C) delivers a stone, with Kim Seon-yeong (L) and Kim Cho-hi ready to sweep the ice, during a women's curling round-robin match against Switzerland at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing on Feb. 16, 2022. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean curlers Kim Kyeong-ae, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Cho-hi and Kim Eun-jung (L to R) celebrate a point against Switzerland during a women's curling round-robin match at the Beijing Winter Olympics at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing on Feb. 16, 2022. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) (Olympics) S Korea-curling

(LEAD) (Olympics) S. Korea falls to Switzerland in women's curling, medal hope takes hit

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest standings in paras 5-7)

By Yoo Jee-ho

BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea lost to Switzerland 8-4 in its latest women's curling match at Beijing 2022 on Wednesday, as its fading medal hope took another hit.

South Korea, the defending silver medalist, dropped to 3-4 with two games left in the round robin. It will play Denmark in the must-win second game of a double header Wednesday night at the National Aquatics Centre and will close out the round-robin session against Sweden on Thursday.

The top four teams out of 10 following nine round-robin games will reach the semifinals, scheduled for Friday.

The losers of the semifinals will meet in Saturday's bronze medal game. The gold medal match will take place on Sunday, the final day of the Olympics,

Switzerland has clinched a semifinal berth at 7-1. Sweden is in second place at 5-2, followed by Canada and Japan, tied up at 4-3.

Britain and the United States are knotted at 4-4, with South Korea behind them at 3-4. Then it's China (3-5), Denmark (2-5) and the Russian Olympic Committee (1-6).

Depending on results of Sweden-ROC and Canada-China match Wednesday, South Korea's fate can be sealed before its finale against Sweden on Thursday.

Switzerland blanked the first end and retained the hammer, or the final stone, for the next end. South Korea then stole a point in the second end to go up 1-0, after Alina Paetz failed to execute a double takeout with her final stone.

Switzerland kept the hammer for the third end but only managed one point -- considered a letdown for a team holding the final rock -- after South Korean skip Kim Eun-jung's deft takeout with the penultimate stone.

Switzerland threatened with three stones in the house late in the fourth end, but Kim took two of them out with her penultimate stone. A following guard shot gave Switzerland two stones in the scoring zone, and after Kim's double takeout, South Korea regained a 2-1 lead.

Switzerland capitalized on a botched South Korean guard shot that left a stone in the middle of the house exposed, with two Swiss rocks already in the scoring area. Paetz's successful takeout gave Switzerland three points for a 4-2 lead.

South Korea got a point back in the sixth end and another in the seventh end to draw even at 4-4.

Switzerland then broke the tie with two points in the ninth end, with Paetz's takeout with her hammer.

South Korea held the final stone in the last end but couldn't quite stage a comeback, ultimately falling 8-4.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]