 Gyeonggi's Team Gim Eun-ji (Photo: Olympics) will represent Korea for a third straight season at the international level. By: Cameron Sallaj In the final of the 2025 Korean Curling Championships, Chuncheon City Hall (Ha) battled Gyeonggi Province (Gim) in a repeat match from 2024. Ha Seung-youn was looking to claim her first title since 2022 and qualify for her first Olympics while Gim Eun-ji was trying to repeat as champion for a third straight year and qualify for a second Games. Starting with hammer, the Chuncheon based rink of Ha, Kim Hye-rin, Yang Tae-i, Kim Su-jin and Park Seo-jin were forced to one. This score was then leveled by Gyeonggi in the next end, tying the score. A perfect draw by Gim Eun-ji in the third end gave her team of Kim Min-ji, Kim Su-ji, Seol Ye-eun and Seol Ye-ji a steal of one and their first lead of the game. They then stole another point in the fourth end when Ha Seung-youn only managed to remove one stone on her double takeout attempt. Following a blank in five, Ha got one point in back in the sixth to narrow the gap to just one. Gim then blanked the seventh before tacking the first deuce of the game on the board in eight, giving her team a solid 5-2 lead with two ends left to play. A strong end by the Chuncheon rink in nine tightened the score to 5-4 coming home. With the lead and the last rock advantage, however, Gim did not have to throw her last rock after Ha was unable to sit shot stone. Gyeonggi counted two from the final end and secured the national title by a 7-4 score.
Team Gim has been building towards Milano-Cortina with this current squad since the addition of third Kim Min-ji in April 2022. Since joining, Kim has helped the team in winning three straight national titles, the 2023 Pan Continental title, the 2025 Asian Winter Games and the 2023 KIOTI National, becoming the first Korean team to win a Grand Slam event. They have also won the Autumn Gold Curling Classic three consecutive times and secured a bronze medal at the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship. The Uijeongbu based rink, which currently ranks sixth in the world, advances directly to the Games by virtue of a third and fourth place finish at the 2024 and 2025 World Championships respectively. It will be a second Olympics for Gim Eun-ji who played on the Korean squad in 2014 while Kim Min-ji, Kim Su-ji and twin sisters Ye-eun and Ye-ji Seol will all make their Olympic debut. |
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Matt Dunstone (Photo: Curling Canada) and his Winnipeg-based squad begin play at the CO-OP Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alta.
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