XINING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese women's team will face Switzerland on Tuesday for the bronze medal at the 2019 Qinghai International Curling Elite after losing their semifinal to South Korea.
After scoring a comfortable 9-3 victory over the United States in the afternoon, China entered the semifinal against South Korea, who had beaten the Chinese in the fifth round.
The two sides had a close game with both teams feeling each other out and preferring to remain cagey in order not to make mistakes in the first three ends. China went down fighting and pushed South Korea in a tit-for-tat encounter, but was pipped 5-3 after the extremely tight ninth end.
Russia will meet South Korea in the final after outclassing Switzerland 7-3. The latter will compete against China for the bronze medal.
"We will work on our problems later the night and be prepared for tomorrow's game", said Zhao Ruiyi, leader of the Chinese team, adding that the team focuses more on learning the experience from other teams.
After the men's semifinals, the United States sealed their spot in the final by edging Canada 6-3 while the Netherlands made the cut by defeating South Korea 7-4. The United States and the Netherlands advanced to the final while Canada and South Korea will play for third place.
The Chinese men's team finished their journey at the Elite with a 2-5 win-loss record after losing 5-3 to Canada in the morning.
The 2019 Qinghai International Curling Elite is being held at the Duoba National Highland Physical Training Base in northwest China's Qinghai province, featuring 16 teams from 10 countries competing on ice from December 5 to 10.
The men will contend for their medals on Tuesday morning while the women will fight for their spot on the podium later in the afternoon.
