Sweden has secured a semifinal spot in the women's curling world championship in Calgary after the team led by Isabella Wranå defeated South Korea 9-5 in the quarterfinals. The match ended with Sweden winning 9-5. Sweden will now face Switzerland in the semifinal, which reportedly starts at 23:00 Swedish time.
In the group stage, Sweden lost to Switzerland. The Swedish team, making its world championship debut, advanced to the quarterfinals by finishing fourth in the group stage with eight wins and four losses. South Korea, led by skip Eunji Gim, has reportedly played strongly on the North American tour and just missed the playoffs at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
it feels fantastic to play for medals with her teammates, a goal they have had for many years
In the quarterfinal, Sweden took an early lead and was up 5-1 at halftime, a lead it maintained until the end. According to reports, Sweden gained an advantage by having the hammer in the first end. South Korea started well, but the game turned when Gim reportedly failed to give her team the lead in the second end.
Sweden then led 3-1 and, in the fifth end, put South Korea under pressure, leading to two stolen points for Sweden. South Korea reduced the lead to 5-3 in the sixth end and had a chance to steal a point in the seventh, but Sweden scored instead. In the eighth end, Gim had an opportunity to bring her team back into the match, but Sweden stole a point and moved toward victory.
they must play at their absolute best to beat Switzerland
Before the final end, Sweden led 7-5, and the match reportedly ended without much suspense. After the win, the Swedish team hugged and began preparing for the semifinal. Wranå, an Olympic gold medalist in mixed doubles, reportedly said it feels fantastic to play for medals, a goal the team has had for years.
She added that Sweden must play at its absolute best to beat Switzerland in the semifinal. Wranå, who had a poorer match against Switzerland earlier, was reportedly back in good form and outperformed her counterpart, as did Linda Stenlund, who statistically handled her tasks best in the Swedish team.