Korean Paralympic curlers take silver in mixed doubles after narrow loss to China 작성일 03-12 9 목록 <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/12/0000085575_001_20260312140811509.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Lee Yong-seok, second to left, and Baek Hye-jin, right, who won silver in wheelchair curling mixed doubles at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, pose with coach Park Kil-woo at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina, Italy, on March 11. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> MILAN — The Korean wheelchair curling mixed doubles team of Baek Hye-jin and Lee Yong-seok came within a stone's throw of gold on Wednesday, but came away with silver after losing to China 9-7. <br> <br> The defeat came after an extra end in the final at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Italy. <br> <br> The matchup came a day after the Korean pair defeated the United States 6-3 in the semifinals on Tuesday. The win guaranteed Korea’s first Paralympic medal in wheelchair curling since the mixed team won silver at the 2010 Vancouver Games. <br> <br> It was the fifth medal for the Korean delegation. Korea stood 15th in the overall standings as of early Thursday with one gold, three silvers and one bronze. <br> <br> Korea, which threw first in the opening end, found itself in trouble early when Lee’s first stone went astray, allowing China to score three points. The match tilted further out of Korea’s favor as the deficit grew to 1-5, and defeat seemed likely through the middle stages. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/12/0000085575_002_20260312140811701.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Korea’s Baek Hye-jin delivers a stone during the wheelchair curling mixed doubles final against China at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina, Italy, on March 11. [YONHAP]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> But Korea kept pressing. In the seventh end, it used its power play, the once-per-game option that allows the positioned stones to be placed on the side rather than in the center, and scored three points. In the eighth, Korea capitalized on a Chinese mistake to steal and force an extra end. <br> <br> The extra end was just as tense. Throwing first, Korea set up guard stones in hopes of creating an opening late. With two guards in place, Lee attempted a hit and roll, but his stone slid slightly to the outside and failed to take over the top position. <br> <br> China then made a mistake to give Korea one last chance, but Baek’s draw did not reach the button, and the match ended there. Baek and Lee, who had lost 6-10 to China in the preliminary round, fought to the very end in the final but narrowly missed out on becoming the inaugural mixed doubles champions. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/12/0000085575_003_20260312140811852.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Lee Yong-seok, left, and Baek Hye-jin, who won silver in wheelchair curling mixed doubles at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina, Italy, pose for a selfie on March 11. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> Korea first won silver in the four-person event at the 2010 Vancouver Games and returned to the Paralympic podium 16 years later. Mixed doubles head coach Park Kil-woo, who was one of the medalists on that team, reached the final as both a player and a coach. <br> <br> Baek, who competed in the four-person event at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics but failed to win a medal, had originally planned to compete in mixed doubles with her husband, Nam Bong-kwang. <br> <br> But that plan fell through when Nam was selected for the four-person team instead. Baek then partnered with Lee, whom she had known since their time at a rehabilitation hospital, and the two showed instant chemistry on the way to silver. <br><br><i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i> 관련자료 이전 AT&T·AWS·아마존 레오, 미국 통신 인프라 현대화 협력 03-12 다음 디펜딩 챔피언 드래이퍼, 세계 3위 조코비치 격파...인디언웰스 8강 진출 03-12 댓글 0 등록된 댓글이 없습니다. 로그인한 회원만 댓글 등록이 가능합니다.
