South Korea’s wheelchair curling mixed doubles team punched its ticket to the semifinals at the 2026 Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Paralympics, putting the nation squarely in medal contention. Hyejin Baek and Yongseok Lee (Gyeonggi Province Disabled Sports Association) went 4-3 in the round-robin to reach the final four.
On March 9 at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Baek and Lee dismantled world No. 7 Estonia 10-0 in their seventh and final preliminary match. They opened with a three in the first end, scored in every end and forced Estonia to concede after six. The result reinforced the all-ends scoring clinic they displayed earlier against Japan.
China finished atop the standings at 6-1, while South Korea, the United States and Latvia all wound up 4-3. With head-to-head results set aside, officials turned to the Draw Shot Challenge (DSC) to break the tie. The U.S. recorded 32.9 cm, South Korea 41.5 cm and Latvia 52.7 cm — which placed all three teams into the semifinals.
The semifinal berth hands South Korea its best shot at a Paralympic medal since the silver in Vancouver 2010 — a 16-year gap. With mixed doubles an official Paralympic event for the first time at these Games, Baek and Lee have a chance to make history as the event’s inaugural medalists. Baek credited her precise chemistry with Lee for her strong belief they can reach the podium.
Because sweeping is banned in wheelchair curling, the accuracy of the first throw is often decisive. Korea showed steady, controlled play with pinpoint draw shots and smart early stone placement. Still, a tight 4-5 loss to Latvia highlighted room for improvement in late-game management, and how Korea’s typically aggressive approach fares against the U.S. defense will likely determine who advances to the final.
South Korea faces second-place United States (world No. 5) for a berth in the final. The match is scheduled for 10:35 p.m. KST on the 10th. Korea carries a psychological edge after beating the U.S. 10-1 in the preliminaries. Leaving the disappointment of Beijing 2022 behind, the Korean team now has one final match to claim the first-ever Paralympic mixed doubles crown.
By Nam-chun Choi | baikal@incheonilbo.com
