Pinoy mixed curling team stuns Korea, Kyrgyzstan in Harbin

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MAKING an immediate impact at the Ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, the Philippines stunned South Korea 12-6 and Kyrgyzstan 10-2 in the mixed doubles team event of curling yesterday at the Pingfang Curling Arena.

The unranked pair of Filipino-Swedish Marc Pfister and Fil-Am Kathleen Dubberstein turned out to be a nightmare for the world No. 13 and Asian top-seeded South Korean tandem of Jihoon Seong and Kim Kyeongae at the start of round-robin games in Group A.

Pfister and Dubberstein returned in the afternoon and beat Keremet Asanbaeva and Iskhak Abykeev for a rousing 2-0 start in the country’s curling debut in the Asian Winter Games.

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“It’s indeed delightful news and a great start for Team Philippines,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino before boarding a plane to Harbin, China’s foremost winter destination.

“It’s morale-boosting ahead of this Friday’s opening ceremony and I hope we stay this way,” added Tolentino, who will rendezvous with chef de mission Ricky Lim and host a team dinner for the 20-athlete Team Philippines on Thursday.

The Koreans tried to fight back from a slow start but the Filipinos held their ground and scored five more points in the seventh end to seal the victory.

“We are definitely the underdog team here but our athletes are here to compete and they are proud to represent the country,” Curling Pilipinas secretary-general Jarryd Bello said. “We have a chance to secure a medal. We beat one of the top teams already.”

Eleven countries seeing action in the mixed doubles event have been divided into two groups—the Philippines, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Chinese-Taipei are in Group A and host China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Thailand are in Group B.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on Friday with the final set Saturday.

“We got a 5-0 start but South Korea made the game interesting, but we prevailed,” Lim said. “This win gives us and our other athletes hope and I hope we sustain our winning ways up to the medal stage.”

Pfister and Dubberstein played a pair from Kyrgyzstan later yesterday and will take on Qatar at 10 a.m. and China at 6 p.m. to complete the round-robin stage tomorrow, Wednesday.

Short-track speed skater Peter Groseclose and his coach, John Henry Krueger, are already in Harbin ahead of the competition in the men’s 1,500-meter quarterfinal and 500 and 1,000-meter heats on Friday.

Expected to check in on Saturday are figure skaters Cathryn Limketkai and Sofia Frank while Paolo Borromeo, Isabella Gamez and Alexandr Korovin are due on Sunday.

The opening ceremony is set Friday at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center.

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