China beats Sweden on last rock at world men's curling championship

VICTORIA, Canada, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China continued its strong run at the world men's curling championship on Sunday in scoring a single point in the final end to beat previously unbeaten Sweden 5-4.

Holding the hammer, the last shot, skip Liu Riu made no mistake to secure the necessary point as China improved its record to 2-1 through two days of the championship in the British Columbia capital.

"It was an outstanding game and we got huge break in nine where (Sweden skip Niklas) Edin had a hit for two and he just rolled about two inches too far so he only got one, so we were tied up (4-4) coming home instead of being one down," said Lorne Hamblin, the China team's co-coach.

After falling behind 2-1 through four ends, China, ranked 27th in the World Curling Tour order of merit, scored two in the fifth and a single in the eighth end to hold a narrow 4-3 lead. Tied 4-4 going into the final frame, China lead Zang Jialiang made a pair of shots to set up a wide open takeout for Liu.

The win was China's first over Sweden, one of curling's perennial powerhouse nations.

"When we play Canada, Norway, Sweden and all the solid (curling) countries, I told the guys there's really no pressure on us, because nobody expects us to beat these teams. So if there is pressure it's what they've put themselves," said Hamblin, adding every tournament is a learning experience for the young China team.

"We're just trying to raise the level, particularly Liu in calling the game, the strategy, how do you beat these top teams? Most of the time it's more than the shot you make."

In the early game Monday morning, China takes on Japan, the nation it beat in the gold medal game of the 2012 Pacific-Asia Curling Championship in New Zealand. Japan, another improving team, beat the USA 7-6 Sunday with the deciding point coming in the final end. China then faces Russia in the afternoon.

In the early matches Sunday, Norway beat Switzerland 8-7 and hosts Canada got by Finland 8-6. In draw four, the Czech beat Russia 7-6 and Scotland got by Denmark 5-4.

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