South Korea Women’s Curling Team Falls to Canada, Misses Semifinals at 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics

By Kang Sang Heon Posted : February 20, 2026, 08:54 Updated : February 20, 2026, 08:54
South Korea’s women’s curling players greet spectators with tearful eyes after a 10-7 loss to Canada in round-robin play at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Feb. 19 (local time) at the Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. [Photo=Yonhap]
 
World No. 3 South Korea’s women’s curling team, Gyeonggi Province, failed to reach the semifinals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

The team — skip Kim Eun-ji, third Kim Min-ji, second Kim Su-ji, lead Seol Ye-eun and fifth Seol Ye-ji — lost 10-7 to Canada on Feb. 19 (Korea time) in its ninth and final round-robin game at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

South Korea entered the match tied for third at 4-4 with Canada and the United States. A win would have clinched a semifinal berth regardless of other results. Instead, South Korea fell to world No. 2 Canada and finished tied for fifth at 5-4.

In women’s curling, 10 teams play nine round-robin games, with the top four advancing to the semifinals.

Sweden finished first at 7-2. The United States, Switzerland and Canada followed at 6-3 to claim the remaining semifinal spots.

South Korea trailed early after giving up one point in each of the first two ends, but took three in the third to move ahead. Canada scored two in the fourth, and South Korea answered with one in the fifth to make it 4-4 at the break.

The turning point came in the sixth end. With South Korea facing multiple Canadian stones in scoring position, Kim Eun-ji’s final shot failed to clear them, and Canada scored four to take an 8-4 lead.

South Korea scored one in the seventh, then allowed one in the eighth. It pulled within 9-7 with two points in the ninth and looked for a comeback in the 10th, but could not steal, sealing the 10-7 loss.



* This article has been translated by AI.

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