More grief for Swiss curlers

Germany's Andrea Schoepp looks at the stones during the women's game against Switzerland Keystone

The Swiss women's curling team has suffered further anguish at the world championships in Lausanne after losing their sixth match in succession.

The team, which continues to languish at the bottom of the championship table, went down 7-5 to the Germans in a hard-fought contest.

Switzerland at one stage threatened to pull off a major upset when they held a one-point advantage going into the seventh end. But a strong German finish dashed any remaining hopes of the Swiss reaching the semi-finals.

Defeat for the women came hot on the heels of an unexpected setback for the men’s team on Monday at the hands of France.

Switzerland had been well placed up until the eighth end when the French scored three points, before eventually running out 7-3 winners.

Earlier in the day, the Swiss men had made heavy weather of disposing of their unfancied Danish opponents. But after a slow start – only registering their first points in the fourth end – the Swiss team went on to dominate the match, scoring four points in the eighth end.

That victory followed previous wins over the United States and Germany, and keeps the Swiss – represented by the Biel-Touring club – in the running for a semi-final place and a trip to next year’s Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The team lie equal third in the world championship standings, with a record of three wins and two losses, ahead of Tuesday’s clash with New Zealand.

swissinfo with agencies