Japan's Moe Meguro advanced to the playoffs at the Ford world women's curling championship Friday with a 7-3 tiebreaker win over Angelina Jensen of Denmark.
With China having qualified for the 1-versus-2 Page playoff game, the Japanese victory assures the Pacific region of its first podium finish at the world championship. Japan's previous best result was a fourth-place finish at the 1997 tournament in Bern, Switzerland.
"I am very proud to have reached the number-four position," Meguro said through an interpreter. "I am also very proud that two teams from Asia are still in the tournament."
Meguro will face Switzerland's Mirjam Ott in the 3-versus-4 Page playoff game while China's Bingyu Wang takes on Canada's Jennifer Jones in the 1-versus-2 matchup later Friday.
Meguro and Jensen both finished the round-robin with 7-4 records, and curled similar percentages in the tiebreaker. Yet, while Jensen's foursome struggled in pressure situations, Meguro made big shots when she needed them the most.
Already up 2-0 through three ends, Meguro made a fantastic shot in the end to expand her lead. The diminutive skip executed a difficult double-takeout, turning a potentially dangerous end into a steal of two for Japan.
Denmark scratched out two points over the next two ends to cut the lead in half, but a major miscue in the seventh allowed Japan to put the game away. Madeleine Dupont, who throws final rocks for Denmark, was off-line with a takeout attempt on her last shot. That allowed Meguro to play a hit and stick for two, extending Japan's advantage to 6-2.
Dupont was visibly frustrated afterward, muttering to herself and tossing her broom to the ground.
She said after the game that the Japanese simply outplayed the defending silver medallists.
"Japan beat us twice, so I have a feeling that they're a bit better than us," said Dupont, who curled 74 per cent in the game. "It's not like I don't think they deserve it or anything, I would just like to be there instead."