Canada establishes presence early with opening win over home team Korea

The Canadians got off to a hot start on Day 1 of the 2024 World Wheelchair Curling Championship at Gangneung Curling Centre in Gangneung, South Korea with a 9-6 win over Team Korea, skipped by Hyeongchul Lee.

“I think it takes a lot of the pressure off,” said Canadian third Ina Forrest. “Once you have that first win, it feels like you’re set up for the whole week. I think it was a really important win for us.”

Team Canada, consisting of skip and lead-rock thrower Mark Ideson, fourth Jon Thurston, third Ina Forrest, second Gil Dash, alternate Chrissy Molnar, head coach Mick Lizmore, and team leader Kyle Paquette, was efficient with the hammer throughout the game and quickly gained separation from Team Korea. The Koreans tried to mount a late game comeback but was eventually run out of rocks for a 9-6 final.

“They surprised us with a few of their shot calls, but I think we just adapted and changed our plan to fit what we were seeing,” said Forrest.

While winning is top of mind for Forrest, who is making her remarkable 16th world championship appearance, she believes there’s more to it than results alone.

“The nicest part is seeing the same people over and over again,” she said. “We’ve become good friends, and it’s a lot of fun being out on the ice with people that you know and have relationships with. So I think that’s one thing I really appreciate about coming to worlds.”

Around the rink on Day 1, Norway (2-0), skipped by Jostein Stordahl, jumps to first in the standings with wins over Czechia (0-1) and defending bronze medallists Scotland (0-2), who find themselves in a hole early on. Korea (1-1) quickly rebounded from its loss against Canada with a win over Estonia (0-2). Canada (1-0) sits tied for second with Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, and defending champions China.

Canada is back on the ice for Day 2 with games against Slovakia (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET) and Italy (Sunday, 5 a.m. ET).

All games will be available to watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@curling1.

For live scores, standings, and statistics for the 2024 World Wheelchair Curling Championship, go to https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wwhcc/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at https://www.curling.ca/category-all-posts-fr/?lang=fr.