Heading into the World Wheelchair Curling Championship this past week in Richmond, B.C., Moose Jaw Curling Centre competitor and Team Canada second Gil Dash expected China to be one of the definitive teams to beat at the 12-team event.
You don’t have wins in four of the last five world tournaments and a Paralympic medal to your credit without drawing that kind of respect.
So when Canada faced China for the gold medal on Sunday morning, they knew they were in for a tough, tough game.
That’s exactly what happened, as the two teams battled back and forth throughout before China stole two in the final end to take a 5-2 victory and World Championship gold.
Dash took to the ice with fellow Moose Jaw wheelchair curling standout Marie Wright as the team’s alternate alongside fourth Jon Thurston, third Ina Forrest and skip Mark Ideson.
Neither team would give an inch throughout the contest, with single points the order of the day from start to finish.
China -- skipped by multiple world championship veteran Wang Haitao alongside third Zhang Shuaiyu, second Yang Jinqiao and lead Li Nana -- got things started with a point in the first end, and after Canada blanked the second, they’d tie things up with a point of their own in the third.
The teams then exchanged points the next three ends, and a blank in the seventh would see Canada with the hammer coming home and trailing 3-2.
It would all come down to a final shot to force an extra end, but Thurston would come up a touch light in his quest to draw full four foot and China had their steal of two and the gold medal win.
It was a storybook run for Canada leading up to the championship game, as they’d post a 9-2 record through the round robin to sit in second place heading into the playoffs.
It all started with an 8-4 extra-end loss to China in their opener, but Canada would reel off eight straight wins through the rest of the week to build their stellar record.
That included an 8-2 win over the Czech Republic in their second game on Mar. 4, followed by a 6-4 victory over the United States and 7-6 win against Latvia on Mar. 5. Canada opened play on Mar. 6 with a 7-4 win over Japan and followed up by defeating Norway 10-3. Next up was a 6-4 victory against Italy and 8-1 win over Scotland on Mar. 7 before suffering their second loss of the preliminary round, a 7-3 defeat at the hands of Korea on Mar. 8. Canada rebounded in style by blowing out Sweden 13-1 in their second game of the day.
With their spot in the playoff round locked up, Canada then finished off the round robin with a 7-3 win over Denmark on Mar. 9.
A day off on Friday offered some rest for the host team, and they’d come out with an impressive 5-2 win over Scotland in the semifinal Saturday evening.
Local curling fans will have a chance to see the majority of Team Canada in action on home ice beginning Friday, Mar. 19 when the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship takes over the Moose Jaw Curling Centre.
Tickets are available at www.sasktix.ca.
