Winter Olympics: GB curlers boost semi-final hopes

GB women's curlers beat Denmark 7-2

By Thomas Duncan
BBC Scotland in Beijing

24th Winter Olympic Games

Hosts: Beijing, China Dates: 4-20 February

Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; listen on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds; live text and highlights on BBC Sport website and mobile app

Both of Great Britain's curling teams boosted their semi-final hopes at the Winter Olympics with wins over Denmark and China.

Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, and Hammy McMillan saw off China 7-6 and the Danes 8-2.

They sit second in the standings after five games.

Eve Muirhead, Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds and Hailey Duff beat Denmark 7-2 to move joint third in the women's section.

The teams each play nine matches in the round-robin stage, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals.

Mouat's rink return to the ice first on Monday to face fellow contenders Switzerland at 06:05 GMT, while Muirhead's side have the chance to effectively eliminate medal hopefuls Canada (12:05).

Sitting on two wins and one loss after Saturday's games, the men's team had the chance to build some momentum against the perceived weaker sides, but were still put to the test.

They managed to score in just two ends against the Chinese, but a four in the second and a three in the eighth was enough for victory.

Denmark were winless from their previous four matches and Mouat's rink - world silver medallists and European champions - were ruthless in punishing early mistakes for a 4-1 lead at the halfway point.

Mikkel Krause's rink stayed within three scores until the eighth end, but conceded after losing three.

The British side now have four wins and one defeat from five games.

GB men's curlers put in 'terrific' performance to beat Denmark

Muirhead's side back on track

After losing two of their first three matches, Muirhead's side were under pressure - and backed up their 10-5 win against the United States.

They immediately hit the front by taking two in the first end with the hammer, but Denmark kept pace all the way to the ninth end in a cagey encounter.

After Britain emerged from a closely fought eighth end with one and a 4-2 lead, Denmark skip Madeleine Dupont was left with a difficult draw to stop Muirhead's side scoring three, but her attempt was heavy.

They now have a record of three wins and two defeats.

"We had a really strong start out there, we were going well going a couple up early on but we always felt in control," said third Vicky Wright.

"It was good to get two wins back-to-back but tomorrow is another day and we start fresh again."

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