On the closing day of the Beijing Winter Olympics, 19 match days, 30 teams and 147 matches, curling finally determined the three gold medals of men's team, women's team and mixed doubles. As one of the two traditional collective events at the Winter Olympics, curling has preserved the tradition and pattern of this ancient project that has been in existence since the first Winter Olympics, and also shows change and vitality.
The pattern is more open and the competition is more intense
The Beijing Winter Olympic Curling Competition is divided into men's team, women's team and mixed doubles, and the 30 participating teams belong to a relatively concentrated country, of which Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom and China have qualified for all 3 events.
The Beijing Winter Olympics bring together a number of curling powers, including many Winter Olympic gold medalists, the men's team in Canada, Switzerland, Norway and the United States have won the Winter Olympic gold medal, and the women's team has Sweden, Canada, the United Kingdom and other champions "regulars". The competition was fiercely competitive, especially in the first half of the game, which was called a "fairy fight", and the teams were busy adapting to the venue and testing their opponents. In the second half, the teams began to play at a practical level, and the strong teams gradually took the lead. Veteran powerhouse Canada has declined in dominance in recent years, and although it has sent a strong squad, it has failed to meet expectations, and the three participating teams have only won 1 bronze medal in the men's team.
Canada's form is sluggish, and the world curling competition is more open. All three events gave birth to the new branch champion. Sweden and the United Kingdom team met in the men's team final, and the last runner-up, Sweden, won the men's team gold medal under the leadership of the "four dynasties veteran" Edin, winning the first winter Olympic gold medal for Sweden. The women's team is led by Britain's "Four Dynasties Veteran" Muriheide, who will taste the championship again after 2002. The Japanese team defended the Asian honor and won the second place, so that the runners-up of the two Winter Olympics belonged to the Asian team, and also created the history of Japanese curling, and the defending champion Sweden won the third place. Due to the new event of the last Winter Olympic Games, the mixed doubles competition was more intense, and the top 3 of the last Winter Olympic Games were all present, and the "dark horse" Italian team, which finally debuted in the mixed doubles arena of the Winter Olympic Games, won the championship with a total victory.
Emerging forces bring vitality to development
The Italian team won all the way to the championship, which is undoubtedly the biggest surprise in the curling competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Italian men's and women's teams have achieved mediocre results in the past, qualifying for the mixed doubles competition for the first time at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the two athletes have not been known before, but the performance of a game that has not been lost is convincingly appreciated. The victory of the Italian team not only created italian curling history, but also blew a new wind into the world of curling.
With a history of 300 years, curling has a relatively fixed pattern for many years, and Curling powers such as Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom have long occupied the position of the world's first group, and are frequent visitors to the podium of the Winter Olympics and World Championships. Even if the men's and women's teams at the Beijing Winter Olympics have produced new champions, they are still from traditional curling powers.
Compared with Europe and North America, curling has developed slowly in other countries and regions, and there are fewer highlights. So far, only China, Japan and South Korea in Asia have the strength to rank among the top 10 in the world. The Asian team's best result at the Winter Olympics was the women's team runner-up, which was the Beijing Winter Olympics runner-up Japan and Pyeongchang Winter Olympics runner-up South Korea, and the two third-placers were Japan's bronze medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and China's bronze medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
This situation has changed in the mixed doubles competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, with more teams appearing in the Winter Olympic games, and Australia, the Czech Republic, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Sweden are all debuting in the mixed doubles competitions of the Winter Olympics. The Australian team is participating in the Curling Competition of the Winter Olympics for the first time, and Australians have also begun to pay attention to curling. More and more teams have the strength to compete for the championship, the strong team is no longer strong, the rookie is menacing, the old and new forces are intertwined, and there is no winning general.
Although the mixed doubles event is a rising star of the Winter Olympics, it is increasingly valued by countries or regions around the world. Judging from the two Winter Olympic Games, the entry of mixed doubles into the Winter Olympics will be a positive and effective measure for the development of curling.
China is facing up to the gap and trying to catch up
The Chinese team at the Beijing Winter Olympics sent a lineup dominated by young players. 10 of the 12 athletes from the 3 teams competed for the Winter Olympics for the first time, and the average age of the 30 participating teams was younger. The women's team is the youngest team on average among the 10 teams, and "post-00s" Han Yu is the youngest fourth base of the women's curling team.
Such a young team, the overall performance is remarkable, the field performance is better than expected, in the face of the world's strong team China team dared to resist, played several beautiful confrontation matches. The Chinese men's team sent Xu Jingtao, Wang Zhiyu, Zou Qiang, Ma Xiuyue and substitute Jiang Dongxu to the lineup. This is the return of the Chinese men's team to the Winter Olympics after an 8-year hiatus. The Chinese team experienced the ups and downs of victory and defeat in the round robin tournament, and finally ranked 5th with 4 wins and 5 losses, creating the second best result in the history of the Winter Olympics.
The Chinese women's team sent Zhang Lijun, Dong Ziqi, Wang Rui, Han Yu and substitute Jiang Xindi, who participated in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Compared with the men's team, the women's team has achieved better results in the previous Winter Olympics, but this competition showed unexpected results. The opening three consecutive defeats caused great shock to the young women's team, and the psychological pressure of the fourth baseman Han Yu, who lacked the experience of the competition, was too large, resulting in frequent mistakes. The Chinese team mobilized the cooperation of athletes through two adjustments to the lineup, and finally ranked 7th with 4 wins and 5 losses.
The mixed doubles was played by Ling Zhi and Fan Suyuan. In early January 2022, two athletes passed the team selection competition combination, and the combination had zero experience in the competition. The two dared to fight and dared to fight, and the morale of the first two consecutive wins was high, but after encountering strong hands, the mistakes increased, and finally ranked 9th with 2 wins and 7 losses.
Throughout the competition, young Chinese athletes have advantages and disadvantages. Judging from the technical data after the game, the Chinese men's team ranked in the forefront of each base, the average success rate of the pitcher ranked third among the ten teams, and the success rate of wang Zhiyu and zou qiang of the third base was ranked first and third respectively in the home base. This data statistics prove that the current Chinese men's team is already competitive in terms of technology and physical fitness.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the young Chinese curling team gained the opportunity to play against the world's strongest teams, gained experience in adapting to the ice surface, reading the game, tactical formulation, training planning and preparation for participation, learned the strengths of the opponents, and laid a solid foundation for further growth. Curling is a sport with a long career, and I hope that the young Chinese curling team will quietly practice internal skills, hone their minds, break through themselves, and set their sights on 2026.
Photo: Wang Xianmin, Ni Minzhe, some images transferred from Xinhua News Agency