PH Curling Team Dominates Early at Harbin Asian Winter Games

THERE is no better way to present yourself than with the Philippine curling team making an immediate wave at the commencement of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China at the Pingfang Curling Arena. 

The Philippine national teams continue to make headlines abroad, and this time with the unranked duo of Filipino-Swedish Marc Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein astounded the audience. 

They defeated South Korea 12-6 in the mixed doubles curling event and created a nightmare for the world’s No.13 and Asia’s top-seeded Jihoon Seong and Kim Kyeongae in their Group A matchup.

Perfect Way to Start

Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), was happy with what he saw with the national team at the start of their campaign in Harbin, highlighting how it may boost the team’s morale.

“It’s indeed delightful news and a great start for Team Philippines,” said Tolentino, expressing his satisfaction with the curling team’s performance in an interview with a media.

“It’s morale-boosting ahead of this Friday’s opening ceremony and I hope we stay this way,” added Tolentino, who will meet with Ricky Lim and host a team dinner with the 20-athlete Team Philippines on Thursday.

The Koreans kept the game interesting as they attempted to recover from a sluggish start, but the Filipinos took the lead and scored five more points in the seventh end to seal the huge victory for the country. 

Medal Run for PH

Eleven countries competed in the mixed doubles event, which was divided into two groups. Group A includes the Philippines, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Chinese Taipei. 

Hosts China, along with Hong Kong, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Thailand are in Group B, and the country’s chances of winning a medal have been significantly increased by its recent victory.

“Our athletes are here to compete and they are proud to represent the country. We have a chance to secure a medal [for] we beat one of the top teams already,” said Curling Pilipinas secretary-general Jarryd Bello. 

Pfister and Dubberstein played a pair from Kyrgyzstan later Tuesday and will face Qatar at 10:00 a.m. and China, at 6:00 p.m. To finish the round-robin stage on Wednesday. 

The opening ceremony is scheduled on Friday at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center.