2026 Winter Olympics: China curling duo lose to South Koreans, miss mixed doubles spot
Newly formed pairing of Ye Zixuan and Yu Sen beaten narrowly by South Korean duo in play-off for place at Games in Milano Cortina
China’s hopes of sending a mixed doubles curling team to compete at February’s Winter Olympics ended after Ye Zixuan and Yu Sen lost to South Korea at the do-or-die qualification tournament in Canada.
The two-week event offered the final two berths in each of the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles categories in curling for the Games in Milano Cortina, Italy. Sixteen teams were chasing the places on offer in the mixed doubles.
South Korean curlers Jeong Yeong-seok and Kim Seon-yeong secured the last remaining spot by defeating the Australian duo of Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt 10-5 in the final on Thursday, a day after the Czech Republic’s pairing clinched the first of the two tickets to the Games.
Ye, 20, and the 21-year-old Yu formed their partnership only this year and won a bronze medal in the Mixed Doubles Bern annual tournament on the ISS Mixed Doubles World Curling Tour in October.
The young Chinese duo managed to put together a six-game winning streak during the round-robin stage in Kelowna, British Columbia, but narrowly lost 6-5 to the world No 1s from Australia in the final group match.