<Anchor> The
selection of the national curling team to qualify for the Beijing Winter Olympics has been crippled.
The federation's ice management was a mess.
Reporter Lee Jeong-chan covered it.
<Reporter>
This is the Gangneung Curling Center where the Pyeongchang Olympics were held.
It is the place where the national team selection is held, and the targets that should be clearly visible were blurred, and the ice quality and friction were low, so the stones did not bend properly.
After making ice at the Asian Championship two years ago, only tinkering crystals made the ice thick and muddy.
The curling federation then changed the stone with rough sandpaper to increase friction and did not inform the players.
Just before the game, the players were puzzled by the changed stone condition, and the leaders called for an emergency meeting.
[Team A coach: You can't (start) right away.]
[Team B coach: You should know?
How did sanding (sanding).] After
discussion, the schedule could not be postponed, and the game was held 30 minutes late, saying that everyone was the same condition.
However, it is questionable whether the best players can be selected in an environment where it is difficult for players to show their skills.
[Kim Eun-jung/Gyeongbuk Sports Association (Team Kim) captain: I think that it is my ability to grasp the nature of the stone and throw a shot according to it, but I think my discrimination has fallen.]
Only the players are sweating out in the easy and irresponsible response of the Curling Federation, which only makes excuses for lack of budget.
In the first game of the playoffs, Kim, the leading silver medalist at the PyeongChang Olympics, defeated Minji, the third place in the world championships last year, 6-5 and came to the final.
(Video coverage: Jeon Jeon-bae, Video editing: Kim Byeong-jik)