OLYMPICS: Curling-Hasselborg's Sweden stay perfect, Canada claim back-to-back wins

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy – Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden maintained their flawless start to the women’s curling competition at the Winter Olympics on Monday, defeating Switzerland 6-4 to record their sixth straight win and secure the top spot in the round-robin standings.

Although Sweden entered the game with five victories, the matchup against Silvana Tirinzoni’s Switzerland—four-time world champions—proved to be their toughest test so far.

“We knew they were the team to beat,” said Hasselborg, who won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and bronze in Beijing four years ago. “They’ve had an amazing season and we haven’t played them this year, but they’ve played so well. We just wanted to go out there, play our game, and make our shots. We stayed aggressive, played offensively, and made a lot of good draws today.”

Switzerland bounced back later in the day by defeating Sophie Jackson’s Britain 10-6. With that win, they sit tied for second in the standings with four wins and two losses, alongside Tabitha Peterson’s United States and Gim Eun-ji’s South Korea.

Canada Beats China and Japan

Rachel Homan’s Canada showed strong form on Monday, overcoming China 10-5 before defeating Japan 9-6, giving them momentum in the race for a playoff spot.

“I think we’ve been playing better and better with every game,” Homan said. “We just have to keep going the way we are.”

Canada, two-time world champions and pre-tournament favorites for Olympic gold, have struggled historically at the Games. Homan has competed in the past two Olympics but did not advance to the semi-finals on either occasion. Canada currently sits tied for fifth in the standings with Denmark, holding three wins from six games.

Italy Secures First Win

Host nation Italy finally claimed their first victory after five consecutive losses, defeating the U.S. 7-2 to the delight of home fans at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

“We had a really good performance tonight,” said Italy skip Stefania Constantini, who won bronze in mixed doubles last week with Amos Mosaner. “We were in control of the ice and worked well as a team, placing every stone in the right position. It’s great to finally get a win.”

-Reporting by Aadi Nair; editing by Ed Osmond and Pritha Sarkar/Reuters