Estonia's mixed curling Paralympics duo get off to a winning start
Estonia's wheelchair curling mixed pair Kätlin Riidebach and Ain Villau beat Great Britain 10–7 in their Milano Cortina Paralympics opening clash.
A total of eight teams are competing in the mixed doubles curling tournament, included in the Winter Paralympic Games program for the first time. Estonia's pair faces competition from Great Britain, Italy, South Korea, Japan, China, Latvia, and the U.S.
In a format mirroring that used at last month's Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, eight teams will play each other in a round-robin preliminary tournament, with the top four to advance to the semifinals and medals playoffs. The medals will be awarded on March 11.
Under the guidance of coach Aleksander Andre, Villau and Riidebach say they have been able to train properly for the Olympics, and this seemed to be the case in their initial clash against Great Britain's Joanna Butterfield and Jason Kean, despite the latter putting up a good fight.
"I was calm, but after the halfway point our game slipped a bit—we could no longer read the stone speeds well. We managed to pull ourselves together and it went well," Villau said.
Riidebach added that he also was not nervous despite the strong opposition. "At one point I couldn't feel the speed of the stone and the shots came up short. The coach told me to take it easy. One of our strengths is that we don't lose our heads in difficult situations. Winning the first game is extremely important and boosts confidence."
Andre went as far as to compare the course of the game to a roller coaster ride. "After the fourth end, it was clear that our players started thinking about not losing the game, but that made them tense and nothing worked anymore," he said.
"We've come back from difficult positions before. A game ends when the final end has been played and the last stone thrown," he added.
In the first three ends, the teams with the last stone each scored two points, but in the fourth end Estonia stole one to lead 5–2. After the British scored two in the power play and Estonia lost three in their own, the score was tied at 7–7 after the seventh end. In the final end, with the opponents having the last stone, Estonia played well, stealing two points for a 10–7 victory.
Riidebach and Villau next meet Italy and the U.S., today, Thursday. Italy beat South Korea 7–5 in their opening match, while the U.S. overcame Latvia 11–6.
Curling at the Paralympics uses exactly the same rules as the able-bodied equivalent, save for the absence of sweepers.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
