US men and Chinese women win bronze at Pan Continental

November 2, 2024

The Pancontinental Curling Championship is rapidly approaching its medal climax with the women’s semifinals taking place Friday morning between Canada and China and Korea and Japan.

This game between Canada and China was tied 2-2 by the fifth end, and then in the ninth end with the score still tied at 3-3, Canadian passer Rachel Homan made a pass for two points and a 5-3 lead.

In the tenth end, Chinese skip Wang Rui played a perfect draw to score two points and again level the game – this time at 5-5 – and force an extra end. In that extra end, Homan hit the final shot to score the one point her team needed to win 6–5 and earn a spot in the gold medal final. China will now compete for bronze.

Afterwards, Homan, from Canada, said: “We had a few mistakes here and there, but we just had to learn from it. It’s very exciting to be in the finals for the first time for Canada.”

The other semi-final saw second-ranked Japan play third-ranked Korea.

By the end of the ninth, Korea was leading 6-5 when Japan skipper Miyu Ueno hit her nose on the Korean stone to score one point and tie the score at 6-6. Then, in the tenth end, Korean Eunji Gim tied the game with her last stone, scored one point and won the game 7-6. The win will allow Korea to advance to the gold medal final against Canada with a chance to retain the title the team won last year, while Japan will face China in the bronze medal match.

After her victory, Kim Eunji said, “It means a lot to me to be back in the finals. We want to play well in the next game and come home with gold.”

Women’s Bronze

In the evening game, China won the bronze medal against Japan. Japan opened the scoring with a single point, but China fought back immediately when Wang Rui scored twice with a counter in the second end.

Japan scored a single in the fourth after scoring third. China knocked out the fifth end and went into the break with the score 2-2.

Japan stole a point in the sixth end before China took control of the game. Wang played a hit and scored two points in the seventh end, then stole one in the eighth end as per the referee’s decision.

In the ninth end, Japan’s Ueno Miyu attempted to strike and stay to bring Japan back into the game, but rolled out, giving up a double-point interception. China knocked Japan out in the tenth, securing Japan the bronze medal with a 7-3 score.

Passing China, Wang Rui said: “I am very happy! Every game was very close, so we had to play our own game and stay patient.

“This team is like a family, even though we lost a few games, we stay together, play together and fight together.”

Men’s Bronze

Before the women’s bronze medal match, the United States and Canada met in the men’s bronze medal match on Friday afternoon.

Both teams took advantage of the last stone in the first two endings, each scoring two points to tie the game at 2–2. In the third end, after a series of clearances through the same port and a close draw with US skip Jon Shuster, Canada’s Brad Gushue added two more points to make it 4-2.

The USA made a breakthrough in the fourth end with three to make it 5-4. Then, in the fifth, Canada’s Gouchuet rolled too far and had to settle for one point, making it 5-5.

The seventh end gave Canada a chance to score four points, but due to an over-spin in Gushue’s final match, they had to settle for two to tie the score again at 7-7.

The United States ultimately led 9–8 with the hammer. On Canada’s final shot, they stood on the rocks for a United States shot, but John Shuster made a perfect draw, covering a piece of the button, scoring one, finishing the game 10–8 and earning the bronze medal for United. States.

After playing “an incredible game against an incredible team”, Jon Shuster was pleased with his team, stating that they were “playing better every game” and “really fitting into the team we’re trying to become.”

Division B

In Division B, Australia’s women beat the Philippines 11-6 in one semi-final to advance to the gold medal, while Jamaica beat Kazakhstan 9-8 to meet them in the final. The Philippines and Kazakhstan will now compete for bronze.

In the men’s B Division semi-finals, Kazakhstan beat Jamaica 10-3, while the Philippines defeated Hong Kong and China 6-1. Kazakhstan will now face the Philippines for gold, while Jamaica will play Hong Kong and China for bronze medals.

Follow us Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, LinkedIn And Weibo and searching the hashtag #curly

Subscribe toWorld Curling Newsletterand receive monthly updates straight to your inbox.