China to meet South Korea in women's curling final at Winter Asiad

HARBIN, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- China cruised into the women's curling final to face South Korea after defeating Japan at the Harbin Asian Winter Games on Thursday.

In the women's curling semifinals, China took a 2-0 lead after four ends and sealed the victory against Japan 5-2, while South Korea eased past Kazakhstan 10-2 in six ends.

"We felt tense in the semifinal, but we managed to handle the pressure, and we won," said Han Yu of China, who emphasized communication and execution toward the final.

"China and South Korea may be at the same level technically. South Korea has more experience, and we need to focus on the details," Han noted.

On the men's side, China took a 4-1 lead early in the semifinal against the Philippines who scored four points in the fifth end before the two teams tied 6-6. In the last end, the Philippines edged China 7-6.

"We lost the match largely due to handling critical points, especially in the fifth end where we lost four points. We should have played more aggressively, but the opponents executed their game well, leaving us with limited opportunities," said China's Fei Xueqing, "It's a pity we stopped here as we really wanted to win a gold medal for China."

In the other men's semifinal, South Korea beat Hong Kong, China 13-2.

The men's curling final will see the Philippines facing South Korea on Friday, the last competition day of the Games. ■