Canada loses to China to play for the bronze medal

Canada, who had been 7-3 since the start of the tournament, found China (7-2) in the semi-finals, having beaten 7-3 on the first day of activities. It was the rematch of the semi-finals of the 2018 PyeongChang Games, which China won 4-3.

After receiving a run at the end, the Canadians came back, thanks to a fine shot from John Thurston, to score in the second finish on their last rock.

But instead of directing a little wind in the Canadian sails, it was the Chinese who made mistakes to get to the next finish, scoring three points after two errors from Thurston, who was too heavy in his throws.

At the fourth end, when the score was 4-1 in favor of China, John Thurston cleverly got around the Chinese goalkeeper, at the entrance to the house, to put his stone in the heart of the button and score two important points.

But history repeated itself in the fifth round. Thurston gave the Chinese an amazing opportunity to score three points while in possession of the hammer. An opportunity they didn’t miss by raising the score to 7-3 after five matches.

Zhang Mingliang, from the Chinese team.

Photo: REUTERS/SOE ZEYA TUN

In the sixth finish, China stole two runs, as Thurston’s outing lacked the conviction to kick the Chinese rock at home.

Despite scoring two points at the seventh end, the Canadians, without the hammer to finish the match, were unable to return to score, acknowledging a 9-5 defeat.

Sweden (7-2) and Slovakia (6-3) finished the semi-finals of the competition. The match was eventually decided, and the Swedes were able to defeat the Slovaks 6-4.

So Canada has a date with Slovakia for the bronze medal. The meeting will be held within a few hours on Friday evening, Beijing time.

China will face Sweden in the Grand Final on Saturday.

The Canadian team is the only team to win a medal at every Paralympic wheelchair since the sport was introduced into the program at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

Maple Leaf won gold in Turin, Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014), before settling on bronze in Pyeongchang.