OLYMPICS: Curling-Switzerland fight back to beat Denmark and seal semi-final spot

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy – Silvana Tirinzoni's Switzerland defeated Denmark 6-4 on Wednesday to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the women’s curling competition at the Winter Olympics.

Denmark held a narrow 4-3 lead heading into the final end, but Switzerland set up a three-pointer to claim their sixth win of the tournament.

"Qualified sounds very good to me. It was hard to get there, so we're relieved that we made it — a game early actually. Tomorrow is still important but now not life or death," Tirinzoni said.

Switzerland also reached the semi-finals in Beijing four years ago but finished fourth after losing to Japan.

Meanwhile, Rachel Homan’s Canada strengthened their chances to advance with a hard-fought 8-7 victory over Italy, which required an extra end to decide the outcome. Canada now sit joint-third in the standings with five wins and three losses, alongside Gim Eun-ji’s South Korea and Tabitha Peterson’s United States.

South Korea Shocks Sweden

Earlier on Wednesday, South Korea recorded an impressive 8-3 win over round-robin leaders Sweden. South Korea scored a three-pointer in the first end and then stole five points over the next three ends, handing Anna Hasselborg’s team only their second defeat of the round-robin.

"We got the first three straight steals when they missed them, so we seized a good opportunity, and that’s why we got that good score. I felt great about the win," Gim said.

South Korea and Canada will face each other in their final round-robin match on Thursday, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals.

Sweden, currently at the top of the standings with six wins and two losses, have already secured their semi-final spot after concluding their round-robin campaign with a 9-4 victory over China.

Britain Keep Hope Alive

Sophie Jackson’s Britain defeated Japan 9-3, keeping their hopes of qualification alive. However, they must win their final game on Thursday and rely on other results to secure a semi-final berth.

"We're absolutely delighted. We knew that we needed two wins from today to keep our hopes alive. We've done that, and no matter what happens tomorrow, we've done ourselves proud today," Britain’s Rebecca Morrison said.

The round-robin stage concludes on Thursday, with each team playing nine matches. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals on Friday. The bronze-medal game will take place on Saturday, followed by the gold-medal game on Sunday. -Reporting by Aadi Nair, additional reporting by Heejin Kim in SeoulEditing by Christian Radnedge and Ed Osmond/Reuters