Chinese curling teams continued their dominant performances at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, on Monday. The women’s team secured two impressive victories, defeating Qatar 14-0 and Kazakhstan 11-4, extending their unbeaten run to four consecutive wins in the round-robin phase.
Against Kazakhstan, the Chinese women took early control, racing to a 5-0 lead after just two ends. Despite Kazakhstan pulling back two points in the third end, China maintained their momentum, scoring in the fourth, fifth, and seventh ends to clinch a comfortable victory.
Meanwhile, the Chinese men’s curling team showcased their prowess with an 11-1 triumph over Qatar, marking their third straight win in the competition.
In men’s ice hockey, the hosts faced a setback, narrowly losing 2-1 to Japan despite taking an early lead. Hou Yuyang opened the scoring for China early in the first period after capitalizing on an opponent’s error. Japan leveled the game in the second period when Riku Ishida netted during a power play. The decisive moment came in the third period as Kenta Takagi’s long-range shot put Japan ahead.
China intensified their efforts by pulling their goaltender in the final two minutes to add an extra skater, but Japan’s defense stood firm to secure the win. Nineteen-year-old Chinese goalkeeper Chen Shifeng expressed his disappointment, saying, “I’m not satisfied with my performance today. The team played well and followed the coach’s plan, so I take responsibility for the goals we conceded. Today’s game gave me valuable experience, and I am looking forward to having a better performance in the knockout rounds.”
Despite the loss, both China and Japan advanced to the quarterfinals. The home side is set to face Chinese Taipei, while Japan will compete against Thailand.
