Tearful South Korea fell agonisingly short in their fairytale bid for women’s curling gold on Sunday at their home Winter Olympics as they were beaten 8-3 in the final by ruthless Sweden.
Skip Anna Hasselborg’s Swedes saw off the so-called “Garlic Girls” in Pyeongchang for the Scandinavians’ third Olympic title, after Vancouver in 2010 and Turin four years earlier.
For the Koreans this was the end of a remarkable journey from the eighth-ranked team in the world to Olympic silver medallists.
Sweden players celebrate winning the gold medal. Photo: AP
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Skip Kim Eun-jung and her high school teammates cried as they waved to the crowd after conceding the final after the ninth end.
The Swedes’ success, watched by King Carl XVI Gustaf, helped alleviate their male counterparts’ pain at losing gold to the United States 24 hours earlier.
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Hasselborg was expertly assisted by Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer, Sofia Mabergs and Maria Prytz.
Team Kim’s unexpected rise has made them headline news in a country where curling was barely heard of a fortnight ago.
