There can be no excuses. The New Zealand men's team ended a disappointing Asia and Pacific curling championships yesterday when it was beaten 8-1 by Australia.
There were high hopes for New Zealand after its superb fifth placing at the world championships in April. It was ranked fifth on Olympic qualifying points table and the 2014 Olympic Games in Russia were in its sights. It just needed to finish in the top two places to qualify for the world championships and get more qualifying points.
A lot was expected from the New Zealand team because the championships are being played at its home base in Naseby.
But the team never got out of first gear and ended its championship yesterday with only one win from its six games. That win was against Kazakhstan, a team entered in the championships for the first time.
It was a tough competition because most of the elite teams have adopted a professional approach and its players are full-time curlers.
New Zealand administrators have adopted a progressive approach and have built world-class curling rinks in Naseby and Dunedin. The players need to adopt the same professional approach to advance the sport to a higher level.
China is the only unbeaten team in the men's championship after beating Korea 6-4 in a tight game yesterday. The eighth end was decisive and China won when it scored two points.
Chinese Taipei had a big 15-4 win over Kazakhstan, including fours on the sixth and ninth ends.
China leads the men's championship with five wins, followed by Korea (four), Japan and Australia (three), Chinese Taipei (two) and New Zealand (one). Kazakhstan has yet to get a win.
The Korean women's team caused the upset of the championships when it beat China 8-6 yesterday.
The experienced Chinese team had been together for 10 years and had looked invincible in the earlier rounds. But Koreans Yeong-Mi Kim, Sein-Yeong Kim, Kyeong-Ae Kim and Eun-Jung Kim did not let the Chinese reputation upset them. The sixth end was the game-breaker when Korea scored four shots to lead 6-3.
China was chasing the game after this and closed the gap to one point by scoring two on the seventh end. But the Korean team held its nerve and scored singles on the eighth and 10th ends to win the game.
China and Korea share the top spot in the women's competition with just two round-robin games left.
After eight rounds they have both won seven games and are followed by Japan (five) and Australia (three). Kazakhstan and New Zealand both have one win.
Kazakhstan gave Australia a fright and only conceded the game on the extra end. Australia won 9-8.
The New Zealand team lost a close game when beaten by Japan 7-5. The fourth end was decisive when Japan scored three shots to take a three-point lead.
