There are only two spots left for the Olympics. Who will Japan face in the final world qualifying round? Seven countries have been decided to participate in the Milan Olympics in women's curling. China, the bronze medalist at the Olympics, has secured a spot in just one tournament.
"Curling World Championships" (23rd, Uijeongbu)
A tournament was held to decide the country quota for the 2026 Milan Olympics, where China, ranked 17th in the world, defeated South Korea, ranked 3rd, 9-4 in the third-place deciding match to win the bronze medal. The Olympic quota was decided by the total points based on the rankings in the 2024 and 2025 World Championships. China did not participate in the last tournament, but earned 11 Olympic points in this tournament alone. They secured a quota at the last minute.
With the tournament now over, the seven teams that have earned Olympic berths in this tournament have been decided, excluding the host country Italy. The order of points is as follows:
(1) Canada - 30 points (15 points in 2012 and 15 points in 2013)
(2) Switzerland: 26 points (13 points in 2012 and 13 points in 2013)
(3) South Korea: 21 points (11 points in 2012, 10 points in 2013)
(4) Sweden: 18 points (9 points in 2012 and 9 points in 2013)
(5) Denmark: 15 points (8 points in 2012, 7 points in 2013)
(6) Scotland/UK – 14 points (6 points in 2012, 8 points in 2013)
(7) China 11 points (11 points in 2017)
The five teams that will advance to the final world qualifying round (December, Kelowna, Canada) are as follows:
(8) Norway: 11 points (5 points in 2012, 6 points in 2013)
(9) United States: 9 points (7 points in 2012, 2 points in 2013)
(10) Japan 8 points (3 points in 2013, 5 points in 2012)
(11) Türkiye: 7 points (4 points in 2012, 3 points in 2013)
(12) Estonia – 2 points (2 points in 2012)
The final world qualifying round will be held with these five teams plus the three teams that advanced through the preliminary qualifying rounds, for a total of eight teams.
Japan will play off of Fortius, SC Karuizawa and Loco Solare in the Japan representative finals (Wakkanai) from September 10th to 14th, and the winners will compete for the remaining two spots.
Norway, who are tied with China but had to swallow their tears because their results in this tournament take priority, are currently ranked 10th in the world. However, they are a strong Nordic team that also won a silver medal at the World Championships in 2023. The United States, who suffered six consecutive losses towards the end of this tournament, are also strong at 6th in the world rankings. They also won against Japan in this tournament. Turkey is an ominous presence that won against Great Britain, Japan (Loco Solare), and South Korea, who all earned Olympic tickets, despite being eliminated in the first round of the last world final qualifying round. Either way, it will be a tough battle.
