By Hritika Sharma
BEIJING (Reuters) – The mixed doubles curling competition kicked off the 2022 Winter Olympics on Wednesday with Sweden’s Almida de Val throwing the first rock of the preliminary round at the National Aquatics Centre.
Teams walked out to the rink with “Scotland The Brave” blasting on the bagpipes before De Val and Oskar Eriksson took on world champion Britons Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, with attendance at the stadium restricted due to COVID-19 curbs.
Rebranded as the “Ice Cube”, the distinctive venue was where American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics when it was known as the “Water Cube” and it has since been renovated to include a curling rink.
“It’s nice that you can see the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics in the same building, that’s really cool,” said Britain’s Dodds.
Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi, representing hosts China, were cheered on by a sparse but lively home crowd as they faced Pyeongchang runners-up Jenny Perret and Martin Rios of Switzerland.
Australia and Czech Republic made their Olympic curling debuts — against the United States and Norway respectively — as the mixed doubles event made its second appearance at the Games, with an expanded field of 10 teams.
Canada won the inaugural gold in 2018 when the competition featured eight teams and will look to retain their crown when they begin their campaign against Britain on Thursday before the Beijing Games formally open on Friday.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma, editing by Ed Osmond)
