Beijing, China, February 19, 2022: Japan will be aiming to end their Winter Olympics on a golden note when they play Great Britain in the final of the women’s curling competition at the National Aquatics Centre on Sunday morning.
Japan beat world champions Switzerland 8-6 in their semi-final on Friday, while Britain produced an incredible fightback to defeat defending Olympic champions Sweden 12-11 in the other semi.
This sets up a curling shootout on the final morning of the Winter Olympics at the Ice Cube, starting at 9.05.
Japan will be appearing in their first final, after winning bronze at PyeongChang 2018, while Britain won bronze at Sochi 2014 and gold at Salt Lake City in 2002.
Japan beat the Swiss thanks largely to a 4-0 score in the fifth end and held firm to book their place in the gold medal match.
Japanese skip Satsuki Fujisawa said the key to victory was a good rest on Thursday, a 20-minute practice and a team meeting to discuss strategy.
"I think the flow today was really great,” she said.
“Instead of me thinking alone, we talked and decided the strategy together. With that atmosphere, we got to play in our best form even though we didn’t have confidence in winning.
“We did everything we wanted today and I hope we will do the same thing in the final. The Olympics is all about timing and responding strategically to opportunities. It’s a competition of mentality.
“It’s vital to examine closely our own strengths and weaknesses, and those of our opponents.”
With Japan one hour ahead of China, Sunday's final will kick off at 10.05am and is sure to attract a bumper TV audience around the country.
Photo: Team Japan/Kyodo News