Winter Olympics – Italy out despite beating Denmark 10-3: China condemns us

Unfortunately, China’s 6-5 win over Switzerland mathematically eliminates the Azzurri from racing to the semi-finals with one round. The national teams that have already qualified for the semi-finals are Great Britain (7-1), Sweden (7-1) and Canada (5-3).

The Chinese turned out a very close match against the Swiss at the last end: the two dangling points in the last hand seemed an indictment for the Azzurri, who would still lose if they fell into the head-to-head table. The victory of Great Britain over Russia with a score of 8-6, which would have kept us alive only if a different result had been achieved between Switzerland and China, is pointless.

Match Report

The first half of the race is about a freeze game and a lot of studying. The distinguishing factor driving us forward is the incompetence of Danish skipper Mikkel Krause, who scored 30% in orders at the end of the first 5 finishes. The Italians take a fraction of the fuel: Denmark takes advantage of Joel Returnnaz’s erroneous bank game, and finds itself with an opportunity to impose a three-of-a-kind cold. Krause, however, is not taking advantage of his hammer, and made two points.

Italy could immediately get back on track at the second end: Denmark completely missed the third and last penultimate goal, allowing Retornaz to remove the only toxic Scandinavian stone from the house. 2-2 and downhill match. Then, the Blues stole the match’s first hand thanks to Krause’s short-sightedness, certainly far from optimal focus to impact key moments. The Danes return to the game just before the break, leaving the hammer at 3-5.

Returning from break, the Blues cut the deadly locomotive: With the hammer available again, they keep the Danes away from home. Riturnaz’s refusal allows Italy to impose four heavy points, flying 9-3. Denmark waves the white flag at the seventh finish, once the final has collected 10-3.

Italy calendar

• Thursday February 10 – 07.05 Italy and Great Britain (5-7)
• Friday 11 February – 02.05.2020 Italy and Sweden (3-9)
• Saturday February 12 – 07.05 Italy and China (9-12)
• Sunday February 13 – 02.05 Italy and Russia (7-10), 13.05 Italy and Switzerland (8-4)
• Monday February 14 – 07.05 Italy – Canada (3-7)
• Tuesday 15 February – 13.05 Italy – USA (4-10)
• Wed Feb 16 – 07.05 Italy – Denmark (10-3)
• Thursday 17 February – 02.05 Italy-Norway

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