New Zealand's curlers have ended a successful 2011 Pacific-Asia Curling Championship in China with one of their best results there in years.
The Kiwi men earned a silver medal and - more importantly - entry into next year's world championships. The New Zealand women also surprised with a bronze medalto complete an excellent final day for the squad.
New Zealand narrowly missed the opportunity for a perfect end to the tournament when they faced the Chinese favourites in the men's final at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre. New Zealand held last rock advantage but trailed 2-4 in the final end of the game. However, China was able to guard their shot stone well enough to prevent the Kiwis removing it and scoring the three they needed to secure an historic win.
New Zealand skip Peter de Boer was not too despondent after the final, though. "The boys played great all week, it was easy to look good after they set things up so well," he said.
"We're delighted with silver. The aim all week was to finish top four in the round robin, and then win the semi-final series. It seems odd, but the semis are actually more important than the final here because it's the top two sides that qualify for the Worlds. And it's only at the World Championships [in 2012 and 2013] that you can earn Olympic qualifying points. So we're really chuffed about New Zealand curling being back on the world stage."
The 2012 World Men's Curling Championship will be held in Basel, Switzerland, in March-April. New Zealand have not qualified for a world championships since 2005.
The New Zealand women ended an eight-year medal drought when they upset Japan 8-4 in their bronze medal match to end the day. It was a great finish to what had previously been a disappointing tournament for the team, three of whom were competing for the first time at this level.
