[Olympics] Reliving Pyeongchang's Emotion... 'Team Kim' Challenges Consecutive Medals Again

Women's Curling Four-Person Team, First Match Against Canada on the 10th
Kim Eun-jung "Japan, Defeated Twice in the Preliminary Round, Wants to Win This Time"

The South Korean women's national curling team 'Team Kim,' participating in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics curling event, is training on the afternoon of the 9th at the National Aquatic Center in Beijing, China. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "Yeongmi, Yeongmi, Yeongmi!" The women's curling national team 'Team Kim,' which touched the hearts of the nation by winning the silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is taking the first step toward winning consecutive Olympic medals.

Team Kim will play their first match against Canada on the 10th at the National Aquatic Center in Beijing, China. The eldest sister of Team Kim, Kim Eun-jung, who completed a one-hour adaptation training at the venue on the 9th, said, "Before coming to Beijing, we trained a lot at the Gangneung Curling Center," adding, "We need to adapt as quickly as possible to the curl (the curved trajectory the stone makes on the ice) and speed in the first game."

Team Kim consists of players all with the surname Kim: skip Kim Eun-jung, lead Kim Seon-young, second Kim Cho-hee, third Kim Kyung-ae, and alternate Kim Yeong-mi (all from Gangneung City Hall). Team Kim's first goal in Beijing is to reach the semifinals. Women's curling features 10 countries including Korea represented by Team Kim, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, the Russian Olympic Committee, China, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, and Sweden. The preliminary round is conducted in a round-robin format, where each team competes 9 times, and the top 4 teams advance to the tournament to determine the champion.

The first opponent, Canada, is ranked 5th in the world. Although ranked lower than Team Kim, who is 3rd, the balanced strength among countries means victory cannot be taken for granted.

Korea will face Great Britain on the 11th, the Russian Olympic Committee on the 12th, and China on the 13th after Canada. On the 14th, they will face their rival Japan's 'Team Fujisawa' in a decisive match.

The match against Japan is a must-win game. Kim Eun-jung said, "Japan is a concern, but I want to play without regrets in this tournament."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.