(LEAD) S. Korea advances to semifinals at women’s curling worlds, clinches Olympic berth

At 10-2, South Korea finished second in the round-robin standings, behind only Switzerland (11-1). Canada also finished at 10-2 but South Korea owned the tiebreaker thanks to its 11-7 victory over Rachel Homan’s team on Wednesday.

Switzerland and South Korea advanced directly to the semifinals, scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Saturday. The next four best countries will compete in qualification games at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the two winners moving on to the semifinals. Canada, seeded third, will take on No. 6 seed Scotland, and the winner of that match will face South Korea in the semifinals. Switzerland will play the winner of the Sweden-China qualification game.

The bronze medal match will be 10 a.m. Sunday, followed by the championship final at 4 p.m. Sunday.

South Korea has never won gold at women’s curling world championships. It won silver in 2022, and bronze in 2019 and 2024.

In the evening session, Canada beat China 7-5 to finish with a 10-2 record before the end of the South Korea-U.S. duel.

South Korea had to win that match or it would have dropped to fourth place at 9-3. Sweden also finished at 9-3 and had the tiebreaker over South Korea after beating Gim’s team 7-5 on Thursday.

South Korea and the U.S. were all tied at 7-7 after 10 ends. Holding the hammer in the 11th end, Gim pulled off a successful draw for the decisive point that sent her team to the semifinals.

Gim posted a 92 percent shot efficiency, compared to 84 percent by her counterpart, Tabitha Peterson.

South Korea also secured a spot in next year’s Winter Olympics.

The top seven nations in points earned from the 2024 and 2025 world championships will qualify for Milan, and South Korea, after collecting 11 points with its bronze medal last year, guaranteed itself a place in the top seven by reaching the semifinals at this year’s worlds.