Winter Olympic Curling Preview: European and American Powerhouses Aim for Medals China, Japan, South Korea and Australia based on the impact

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 1

Xinhua News Agency reporters Liang Jinxiong, Tan Chang, Zhang Yueshan and Ma Sijia

The curling competition with 147 curling games in 19 days will be the first to open the curtain of the Beijing Winter Olympics in the "Ice Cube" on the 2nd. Since the birth of this winter "noble" sport, European and American countries have been monopolizing the world's major competitions, although in recent years, although occasionally affected by China, Japan, South Korea and Australia, but the Beijing Winter Olympics 3 curling gold medals are still difficult to leave the hands of European and American powerhouses.

Looking at the curling championship book of the Winter Olympics and World Championships, 130 of the 131 champions are from European and American countries, the only exception is that the Chinese women's team broke through the encirclement of European and American powerhouses in 2009 to win the championship.

Among european and American countries, the Canadian curling team performed the most prominently, with a total of 59 times winning the Winter Olympics or World Championships. Curling originated in the United Kingdom more than five hundred years ago, but Canada has made curling flourish. Currently, the country has the largest curling population and clubs in the world.

For a long time, the world pot world has only had men's and women's four-person team competitions, which represents the level of curling in a country. In 2008, the Mixed Doubles World Championships was founded, and Canada is still blank in the championship list, which is not unrelated to the fact that they value the four-a-side game more. Four years ago, the Winter Olympics added a mixed doubles event, Canada was bent on winning the four-man championship, dismantling the fixed combination of "old fritter" Morris and Hohmann, allowing Hohmann to play as the captain of the women's team, and the women's team did not even touch the medal, but Rouse and Morris, who failed to be selected for the women's foursome, won the mixed doubles championship in one fell swoop. Morris finally held hands with Horman, who had been partnering for 7 years, and their goal was straight to the gold medal.

The ones that pose a direct threat to the Canadian duo are the active world champions, the British "Wise" duo Moat and Dodds. In addition, the Team of Norway and Switzerland, the runner-up team of the Winter Olympics and the World Championships, is also voyeurizing on this gold medal.

The biggest favourite in the men's four-man tournament is the Swedish team led by veteran Edin, who have not only won medals in the last two Winter Olympics, but also won three consecutive titles at the last three World Championships. The biggest obstacles on their way to the championship are the rising youth team Britain, the defending champion United States and the Canadian team with Gushu as the captain, of which Gushu is the Turin Winter Olympic champion, and after 16 years of dormancy, he qualified from the fiercely competitive domestic selection competition, proving that his comprehensive strength is stronger with age.

In today's pot world, the Swedish women's team, like the men's team, is a strong contender for the championship everywhere they go. However, there is always a spell on their heads that cannot be shaken off - two teams cannot win the championship at the same time on the same field.

The Swedish women's team, which is known for its defensive stability, and the experienced Canadian team and the world champion Switzerland both regard the gold medal as the target, but the United Kingdom, Russia and Pyeongchang Second and Third Place South Korea and Japan, as well as the host China team, are not to be outdone, playing at a high level will make the 3 hot teams difficult to deal with.

After winning the women's bronze medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Chinese team missed the medal in the last two Winter Olympics. After the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Ma Xiuyue, Han Yu and other new generations of emerging talents gradually took up the burden of the national team. The Chinese team, which won full qualification by virtue of its host status, 10 of the 12 players participated in the Winter Olympics for the first time, and the lack of experience and lack of running-in were the biggest shortcomings of this young team. However, young means unlimited physical strength and potential, in the Winter Olympic Curling this number of games (the gold winning team to fight 11 consecutive games), the front line length (mixed doubles 7 days, men's and women's races 12 days) marathon competition, look forward to the Chinese team to abandon the fear of difficult thinking, enjoy the Winter Olympic time, play the training level, may have the opportunity to "pull down the strong team" in individual games. (End)