Filipino-Swiss Marc Pfister and Filipino-American Kathleen Dubberstein missed the podium in the 9th Asian Winter Games mixed doubles event in curling on Saturday.
World No. 15 Han Yu and Wang Zhiyu of host China beat the Philippine team duo in the bronze medal match, 6-5, at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena.
“I thought we played not that bad. The experience was not just there,’’ Pfister said in a news release.
Pfister and Dubberstein had an impressive 4-1 run in the round-robin stage, followed by a dominant 7-2 win over Chinese Taipei’s Liu Bor-Kai and Chou Yi-Hsuan in the qualification round.
Japan’s Go Aoki and Tori Koana ended their streak in the crossover semifinals, 10-3, that set up the showdown with the Chinese.
The Japanese pair went on to win the gold over South Koreans Kim Kyeong-ae and Seong Ji-hoon, 7-6.
“Personally, I think I could have done better on my last rocks, but the way I missed the shots was very marginal. So if we can work on honing those skills, I think we can do great next time,’’ the Wisconsin-based Dubberstein, who played in the United States nationals from 2011 to 2019, said.
Team competition will begin on Sunday.
“We just played six or seven games together (before the tournament) and time was running out. That was the reason,’’ Pfister, a veteran of the worlds and European championships while playing for Switzerland, said.
In the short track event, 17-year-old speed skater Peter Joseph Groseclose placed sixth (2:32.668) in the 1500m semifinal heat and was third in the 500m quarterfinal 3 with 42.331 seconds behind China’s Lin Xiaojun (41.325) and Kazakhstan’s Abzal Azhgaliyev (41.876) at HIC Multifunctional Hall.
Groseclose, who competed in the Winter Youth Olympics last year, will be back in action for the 1000m event on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Filipino-American Proulx Tallulah clocked one 1:53.42 to finish 16th among 45 skiers in the women’s slalom event at Alpine Skiing Slalom Stadium in Yabuli, Heilongjiang province.
Japan’s Chisaki Maeda (1:33.50) won while compatriot Eren Watanabe (1:34.92) got the bronze medal. South Korea’s Sohui Gim (1:34.06) took the silver. (PNA)