South Korea's curlers prepare to slide a stone against China in a round robin contest at the World Women's Curling Championship in Uijeongbu, South Korea, March 17, 2025. /VCG

Hosts South Korea defeated China 9-6 in round robin competition at the World Women's Curling Championship in Uijeongbu on Monday, securing their fourth straight win to open the tournament.

South Korea scored first in the third end to take a 2-0 lead. Although China responded with a point in the fourth, the hosts continued to add one of their own in reply. Then in the ninth end, they tacked on two more points, increasing their advantage to 6-3.

China's Wang Rui uncorked an excellent delivery in the 10th to knock two South Korean stones off the button, scoring three points to tie the contest at 6-6, and sending it into an extra end.

Wang tried to repeat her clutch play in the 11th, and knocked out the home side's closest stone, but her team had none of their own left on the button.

In the end, South Korea decided to drop their final stone to secure three points and wrap things up 9-6. China suffered their second loss from four games so far.