| Hosts: Beijing, China Dates: 4-20 February |
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Team GB curlers Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds gained a carefully fought mixed doubles opener 9-5 against Sweden because the Winter Olympics began in Beijing.
Trailing 8-5, Sweden missed a great likelihood to attain three with their final stone and drive an additional finish.
Instead, victory gave the British pair the proper begin to their Olympic marketing campaign against their fellow medal contenders.
Mouat and Dodds are in motion once more on Thursday (01:05 GMT) against Canada.
The groups ranked within the prime 4 as soon as all 10 nations have competed against one another will progress to the semi-finals.
The curling kicked off the Games in China two days earlier than the opening ceremony, in the identical enviornment American swimmer Michael Phelps famously gained his eight gold medals in 2008.
Now reworked into the ‘Ice Cube’, the sector was sparsely populated with no tickets on sale to most people attributable to strict Covid-19 restrictions, with the one cheers coming at intervals when hosts China scored on one other sheet.
This is the primary Olympics Great Britain has performed mixed doubles, having did not qualify 4 years in the past when the self-discipline made its debut in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
However, Dodds and Mouat gained the world title in Aberdeen final May and are one of many primary contenders for a medal this 12 months, with Britain hoping to beat the nationwide document haul of 5 in Sochi in 2014.
But they have been up against Swedish pair Almida De Val and Oscar Eriksson, world bronze medallists, and one other of the favourites to win gold.
The decisive second got here within the penultimate finish, when the Swedes hit Mouat’s guarding stone with their final to offer the Scottish pair a rating of three and an 8-5 lead heading into the final.
Even then, De Val had the prospect to grab three of their very own together with her last shot, however her draw try sailed by means of the home and out of play to safe a degree for Britain and victory.
Dodds and Mouat play twice on Thursday, first against the Canadians after which against Switzerland (12:05 GMT) as they appear to construct on a optimistic begin.
