Curlers going for gold

Mar 8 2013 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser

Big County curler Kyle Smith is on track to medal at the World Junior Curling Championships in Russia.

The final round-robin session yesterday saw the line-up for the Page Play-offs in the men’s section in Sochi firmed up.

Scotland, skipped by Guildtown’s Smith, beat the USA 8-3 in eight ends to post their eighth win in nine games.

That left them clear at the top of the rankings, with a one-win advantage over Canada and hosts Russia.

Last year, the teenager returned from the Euros with a bronze. He is joined in Russia by brother Cammy, Thomas Muirhead from Blair Atholl and Kyle Waddell, with Perth coach David Ramsay on the sidelines.

Because Canada beat Russia earlier in the round-robin, they rank second overall and now face Scotland in tonight’s Page 1 v 2 Play-off, with the winner going direct to Sunday’s gold medal final, and the loser having a second chance by way of Saturday’s sole semi-final.

Smith said: “We’re where we wanted to be. We haveto keep doing what we’re doing.”