(Adds word ‘curling’ in first paragraph)
By Aadi Nair
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Magnus Ramsfjell’s Norway beat Canada 8-6 to seal their spot in the semi-finals of the men’s curling competition at the Winter Olympics, while Britain also made it through after Italy were beaten by Switzerland.
Norway’s win ensured they would finish in third place in the round-robin standings, setting up an immediate rematch with Brad Jacob’s Canada in the semi-finals later on Thursday.
Jacobs, who led Canada to gold at the Sochi Games in 2014, said playing Norway again felt like deja vu after a comeback win against China in the last round-robin game at Sochi followed by a semi-final against the same opponents.
“So we’re experienced with this, done this lots. Just hopefully we can get off to a better start tonight and roll from there,” he said.
ITALY LOSE
Norway, Italy and Britain were all in the mix for the final two qualification spots, but the hosts suffered a 9-5 loss to Yannick Schwaller’s Switzerland in their final game.
Switzerland’s win saw them end their round-robin campaign with a perfect record of nine wins in nine, and they will meet Britain in the semi-finals.
“We didn’t perform as much as we want today, and they played better than us. And we have to accept it,” said Italy’s Amos Mosaner, who won a bronze medal in the mixed doubles competition earlier this month.
“We had our chances during the week in a couple of games, and we didn’t take it. You know, we are at the Olympics. Every team is fighting hard for a spot in the playoffs. We have to sit down and speak, and then let’s see what the future has in store for us.”
BRITAIN THROUGH
On Wednesday, Bruce Mouat’s Britain bounced back from a run of three straight defeats to defeat the United States 9-2 and keep their semi-final hopes alive, but the world champions needed results to work out in their favour in the final session.
The semi-finals of the men’s competition take place later on Thursday, with the two winners meeting in a gold medal game on Saturday, while the two losers will face off for bronze on Friday.
In the other games, 2022 Olympic champions Sweden lost 10-4 to the Czech Republic to end their disappointing title defence in ninth place, with only China below them after they were beaten by Germany.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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