THE Philippines’ Marc Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein shocked heavy favorites Jihoon Seeong and Kim Kyeongae of South Korea, 12-6, in the mixed doubles of curling that jumpstarted the country’s campaign in the Ninth Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China on Tuesday.
It was a giant-sized triumph for the Filipinos as they brought down the South Korean tandem that is ranked 13th in the world and the best in Asia that sent shockwaves at the start of the round-robin Group A action.
“We are definitely the underdog team here but our athletes are here to compete and they are proud to represent the country,” said Curling Pilipinas Secretary-General Jarryd Bello.
“We have a chance to secure a medal we beat one of the top teams already,” he added.
A total of 11 nations are seeing action in the event with the Philippines and South Korea bracketed with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei.
The other group is being comprised of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Thailand.
The Filipinos are hoping to finish in the top two of their group to advance to the semis slated for Friday, and, if the stars align, gatecrash to the finals set the next day for a chance of claiming the country’s breakthrough gold medal in the quadrennial meet.
Mr. Pfister and Ms. Dubberstein were clashing with Kyrgyzstan late Tuesday and will take on Qatar at 10 a.m. and China at 6 p.m. on Wednesday to complete the round-robin stage.
Richard Lim, the country’s chef-de-mission, said the mammoth triumph should help boost the morale of the team as they seek to make history.
“This win gives us and our other athletes hope and I hope we sustain our winning ways up to the medal stage,” said Mr. Lim.
Short track speed skater Peter Groseclose will be the next man up for the country as he plunges into the men’s 1,500-meter (m) quarterfinal and 500-m and 1,000-m heats on Friday.
Expected to check in on Saturday are figure skaters Cathryn Limketkai and Sofia Frank while Paolo Borromeo, Isabella Gamez and Aleksandr Korovin are due on Sunday.
The opening ceremony is set for Friday at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center. — Joey Villar
