Switzerland, Sweden extend winning streaks in Olympic curling round robin

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland and Sweden extended their winning streaks in the men's and women's curling round-robin competitions respectively at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games here on Sunday.

Switzerland edged Britain 6-5 for its fifth consecutive win, while Canada defeated China 6-3 to move into second place in the standings.

As one of the youngest teams in the men's field, the United States stunned defending champion Sweden 8-5 and later defeated Norway 10-8, tying Britain for third place with a 4-2 record.

U.S. curler Daniel Casper expressed his admiration for Sweden after the game.

"They're an amazing team, maybe the best to ever do it. I have a ton of respect for them. It's always an honor to play them and learn from them. Win or lose, I always feel like we're learning from them," he said.

In the women's competition, Sweden built a 7-3 lead at the break before Britain narrowed the deficit to 9-7 after nine ends. Swedish skip Anna Hasselborg delivered a decisive double take-out in the 10th end to score one more point and seal a 10-7 victory, keeping her team unbeaten after five games and on top of the table.

The United States came from behind to edge China 6-5 and sit second with four wins and one loss, while South Korea defeated Japan 7-5 to keep its semifinal hopes alive. Denmark beat Italy 7-2 in eight ends and moved into a tie for fourth place with South Korea.