Russia defeated China to win gold at World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship

Russian pair Anastasia Bryzgalova and Alexander Krushelnitskiy on 23 April 2016 claimed the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship title with a 7-5 victory over China at Karlstad, Sweden.

China's Wang Rui and Ba Dexin took the silver. The United States, with a 9-7 win over Scotland, secured the bronze medal.

The combined results of the 2016 and 2017 world mixed doubles events will decide the seven teams who will join host South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

About World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships

• The World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship began in 2008.

• Switzerland's mixed doubles team of Irene Schori and Toni Müller dominated the 2008 and 2009 championships and appeared in the first three worlds.

• At the 2010 Worlds, Russia won its first ever world curling title by defeating New Zealand, also first-time curling medallists.

• In 2013, Hungary won their first world curling title after defeating Sweden in the final.

• Hungary was the winner of the 2015 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.

Also Read: Bryan Brothers won Barcelona Open Men's Doubles title

What is curling?

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice towards a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules and shuffleboard.

Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called rocks, across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a circular target marked on the ice. Each team has eight stones.

The purpose is to accumulate the highest score for a game. Points are scored for the stones resting closest to the centre of the house at the conclusion of each end, which is completed when both teams have thrown all of their stones.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1  Current Affairs App