 International teams left North American rinks behind at curling bonspiels this week in Ontario and Alberta. All three finals at the major tour stops featured teams from South Korea and Japan. EunJung Kim of South Korea made a come-around for a deuce and a 6-5 win over Japan's Sayaka Yoshimura to win the Stu Sells Tankard in Barrie, Ont. In the men's final, Japan's Yusuke Morozumi scored five in the opening end and cruised to an 8-2 victory over South Korea's ByeongJin Jeong. At the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic in Calgary, South Korea's Eun ji Gim defeated Japan's Miori Nakamura 8-3 in the final. "In Asia - especially in Korea and Japan - curling is getting popular," Kim said through an interpreter. "Teams are able to just focus on the curling. That's why Asians teams keep getting better ... they just have a job as a curler." Kim's sweepers delivered on her final throw. The rock barely missed the guards and the takeout was made for the victory. "It was a perfect come-around," Kim said. "(We) decided to go for it because it was the last rock." Kim and third Kyeongae Kim, second Chohi Kim and lead Seonyeong Kim beat two rinks from China - skipped by Yu Han and Rui Wang - to reach the final. In the championship, Kim scored a deuce in the fourth end for a 3-1 lead. Yoshimura scored three in the seventh end but Kim delivered down one with hammer coming home. WATCH: FINAL - EunJung Kim vs. Sayaka Yoshimura "I tried to keep it simple because we had hammer," Kim said. "We just waited, played a patient game, and waited." Many of the Asian teams are in mid-season form since they start so early in the season. Many Canadian teams, meanwhile, wait until September to hit the bonspiel circuit and sometimes practice ice is not accessible until early fall. Kim beat Chelsea Brandwood of Niagara Falls, Ont., Paige Bown of Navan, Ont., and Hollie Duncan of Woodstock, Ont., in the preliminary round. Her lone loss was to Katelyn Wasylkiw of Milton, Ont. "We just tried to focus on weight control (this week)," Kim said. "It led to success for draw shots. It was very impressive." Kim, who's 26-10 on the season, reached the playoffs at three Ontario events last month. She made it to the semifinals at the KW Fall Classic and lost in the quarterfinals at the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in Cornwall. Her team will play at the upcoming Insitu Players Open event in Dundas, Ont., and the first Grand Slam of the season starting Oct. 17 at Niagara Falls, Ont. "We have our confidence back again," said Kim, who won Olympic silver in 2018 and was eighth at the 2022 Games in Beijing. "We're trying to focus on the next Olympics (in Milan in 2026)." A Stu Sells Junior Tankard ran concurrently with the men's and women's competitions. American Wesley Wendling beat Kibo Mulima of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., in the junior men's competition and Mia Toner of Sudbury, Ont., edged Toronto's Julia Markle 5-4 in the junior women's event. |
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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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