Beijing, 10 Feb (Xinhua) -- In the second round of the men's curling round robin tournament of the Beijing Winter Olympics held on the afternoon of 10 February, the Chinese men's curling team lost a good game in the first eight innings, and was scored 4 points in the ninth set, losing 4:7 to the Russian Olympic Committee team.
China's Zou Qiang, Wang Zhiyu and Xu Jingtao (from left to right) compete in the men's curling round robin tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 10. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xu photographed
In the first set, both sides played relatively simply, and the Chinese team scored 1 point in the backhand. In the second set, the Chinese team blocked the opponent's line in succession, stealing 1 point first with the center pot in the base camp. The Russian team retained the backhand advantage to enter the third set, the Chinese team took the initiative to form a 3-point containment, and the Russian team scored only 1 point on the last shot. In the fourth set, the two sides held each other back in the border area, and the Chinese team scored a point after spinning in the back hand. The Russian team then scored 1 point after the Chinese team was tied by 3 points, and the Chinese team led 3:2 to end the fifth set.
In the sixth inning, the Russian team recovered from the third base of Klimov, and the Chinese team was somewhat passive, and the backhand was stolen by 1 point. The seventh inning was still relatively simple, with the Chinese team's third baseman Zou Qiang a perfect "double fly" to empty the base camp, the fourth baseman Ma Xiuyue to throw the "flow game", and the host continued to retain the backhand advantage. In the eighth set, the Chinese team started with some mistakes, but with the wonderful blows of Wang Zhiyu and Zou Qiang, the situation was successfully reversed, Ma Xiuyue's last shot reached the center of the circle, and the Chinese team scored 1 point in the backhand, leading 4:3.
Ma Xiuyue (third from left) from China competes in the men's curling round robin tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 10. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xu photographed
The ninth set became a turning point in the game, the Chinese team continued to attack after a long examination, but there were consecutive mistakes at the end of the innings, and the Russian team scored 4 points through the last blow and rebounded 7:4. In the last inning, the Chinese team, unable to possess enough valid pots in the base camp, chose to shake hands early to end the game.
For the ninth set, Wang Zhiyu analyzed after the game: "In fact, our tactics are still quite clear, thinking that it is acceptable to let the opponent steal 1 point, but there are some small mistakes, and we are given big points." The level of the Chinese and Russian teams is similar, we performed well in the first eight innings, but then there were some changes in the venue, and the lack of ponychi led to the venue becoming 'straight', and then the connection was also a bit problematic. ”
Chinese players Zou Qiang, Xu Jingtao and Wang Zhiyu (from left to right) compete in the men's curling round robin tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 10. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xu photographed
'It's a bit of a loss of mood, but there are still seven games ahead and we'll calm down and play the next game well.' Wang Zhiyu said.
Captain Ma Xiuyue also said: "The tactics in the ninth set are no problem, the purpose is to force the opponent to score 1 point, and then we will play back in the tenth set. (In the game) it was played according to the established tactics, there was a problem with the connection, and there were a few more serious mistakes that led to a bad angle of the bump. ”
In other matches that afternoon, defending champions the United States lost 4:7 to world champions Sweden, Norway lost 5:6 to Canada and Great Britain to Italy 7:5.
Editors: Ding Wenxian, Yu Sihui, Cao Yibo, Yin Shiqi (Intern)