By Hritika Sharma
BEIJING (Reuters) – Sweden’s Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson added a mixed doubles medal to their country’s glittering Olympic curling trophy cabinet after clinching bronze with a 9-3 dismantling of Britain at the National Aquatics Centre on Tuesday.
Reigning world champion Britons Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat were 1-0 up after opening end but were left staring at an 8-1 deficit at the halfway mark as Sweden scored four and then three to storm ahead.
It was an uphill battle for Britain and although they claimed a couple of points, the pair conceded the match in the sixth end.
Their opponents received loud applause from spectators and the Swedish contingent including veteran men’s skip Niklas Edin, whose rink Eriksson will join as third when the competition starts on Wednesday.
Men’s and women’s curling teams from Sweden have previously won nine Olympic medals in total, including three golds, with the country being the second most successful in Games history behind fellow heavyweights Canada.
Italy, with a perfect record so far, and 2018 bronze medallists Norway will vie for gold in the mixed doubles event later in the day.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
