Tori Koana (R) and Go Aoki of Japan compete in the curling mixed doubles final against Kim Kyeong-ae and Seong Ji-hoon of South Korea at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Xingyu)

Japan's Tori Koana and Go Aoki claimed the curling mixed doubles gold after beating Kim Kyeong-ae and Seong Ji-hoon of South Korea 7-6 at the Harbin Asian Winter Games on Saturday, while China bagged the bronze.

South Korea scored first in the final, but Japan had the hammer in the second and fourth end, leading 4-3 after the first half. Kim took advantage of the power play in the seventh end to put South Korea ahead, before the Japanese duo scored two points with their pinpointed stones in the final end en route to a 7-6 victory.

"It's our first international competition, and our goal was to win the gold medal. We are very happy to achieve it, but it's a pity that we don't have the chance to play against the Chinese team," said Koana.

In the bronze medal match, China's Han Yu and Wang Zhiyu rallied from four goals down to beat Kathleen Sumbillo Dubberstein and Marc Pfister of the Philippines 6-5.

"The start was not as expected, but we adjusted the tactics in time, and made a better change," said Wang. "I'll now focus on the men's round-robin."

The men's and women's curling round-robin competition will kick off on Sunday. 

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