Philippines wins its first Asian Winter Games medal, a curling gold

HARBIN, China — The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical country's first Asian Winter Games medal with a victory in Friday's men's final against South Korea.

The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena.

The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold.

''This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games' history! What an incredible accomplishment!'' the post said. ''You've made the entire country so proud!''

Curling gets its time to shine every four years at the Winter Olympics, where players sweeping a stone across the ice rink is screened around the world.

The Philippines was accepted a member association of the World Curling Federation in September, 2023 — along with Pakistan and Puerto Rico — and started a bid to qualify for the 2026 Olympics.

The men's team is based in Switzerland and skipped by Marc Pfister, who represented the Swiss at three world championships before switching countries.

He and his brother, Enrico Pfister, are among the four curlers who were born in Switzerland and are eligible to play for the Philippines through their Filipino mothers.

Teams from 34 countries stretching from Saudi Arabia in the west of the continent to Singapore and Philippines in the southeast, competed in 10 sports across 11 days at the Harbin Games that were due to finish Friday.

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