Harbin: Filipino-Swiss Marc Pfister and Filipino-American Kathleen Dubberstein missed the podium in the 9th Asian Winter Games mixed doubles event in curling, narrowly losing the bronze medal match to World No. 15 Han Yu and Wang Zhiyu of China, 6-5, at the Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena.
According to Philippines News Agency, Pfister and Dubberstein had shown promise with an impressive 4-1 run in the round-robin stage and secured a dominant 7-2 victory over Chinese Taipei's Liu Bor-Kai and Chou Yi-Hsuan during the qualification round. However, their journey was halted by Japan's Go Aoki and Tori Koana in the crossover semifinals, where they lost 10-3, setting up the bronze medal showdown with the Chinese team.
Despite the setback, Pfister remained optimistic, stating in a news release, "I thought we played not that bad. The experience was not just there." Dubberstein, reflecting on her performance, added, "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 Japanese pair, who defeated Pfister and Dubberstein, went on to clinch the gold medal, overcoming South Koreans Kim Kyeong-ae and Seong Ji-hoon, 7-6. As the team competition is set to begin on Sunday, Pfister noted the limited preparation time he and Dubberstein had, mentioning they "just played six or seven games together (before the tournament) and time was running out."
In other events, 17-year-old speed skater Peter Joseph Groseclose finished sixth in the 1500m semifinal heat and third in the 500m quarterfinal 3 at the HIC Multifunctional Hall. Groseclose, who participated in the Winter Youth Olympics last year, is scheduled to compete in the 1000m event on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Filipino-American skier Proulx Tallulah completed the women's slalom event in 16th place with a time of 1:53.42 among 45 competitors at the Alpine Skiing Slalom Stadium in Yabuli. Japan's Chisaki Maeda claimed victory, while Eren Watanabe secured bronze and South Korea's Sohui Gim took silver.
