Sweden steamrolls China in women’s curling semifinal

 Sweden skip Anette Norberg forced team China skip Wang Bingyu to concede after the ninth end, defeating the Chinese 9-4 in semifinal action of women’s curling on Thursday at the Vancouver Olympic Centre.

The rematch of the 2009 World Championship was really no contest for the defending gold medallists from Turin 2006, who are now assured of at least a silver medal with the win.   

Sweden had the last rock in the opening end and Norberg executed a beautifully-placed quiet tap to score a single, giving them a 1-0 lead.

The Swedes stole singles in the next two ends to give them a comfortable 3-0 lead heading into the fourth.

Wang Bingyu nearly made a difficult tap-back shot that would have given the Chinese two points in the fourth end, but instead they settled for a single, making it 3-1.

However,  Norberg’s team regained the momentum by stealing three more points in the fifth end to take a commanding 6-1 lead. 

After China made it 6-3, the experienced Swedes scored three points in the eighth end to open up an insurmountable 9-3 lead.   Bingyu’s rink considered a concession, but the defending world champions from 2009 decided to play on, only to concede after the ninth end with the score 9-4.

Team Sweden has the opportunity to defend their gold medal from the Turin Games on Friday against Canada.

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By: Rod Perry
Posted: Feb 25 2010 2:37 pm
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Filed under: Winter Games
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