WCF World Cup - Grand Final: Chinese duo of Cao & Yuan bow out in pool play

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02:04

So, Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie have been knocked out, and won't reach the final. The early elimination serves as a reminder that the host nation faces a tough task in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Damion Jones has the details.

After opening the competition in Group A with a loss to Canada's Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres at the Curling World Cup's Grand Final, Chinese mixed doubles duo Cao Chang and Yuan Mingjie bounced back to grab an upset win over last year's world champions, Michele Jaeggi and Sven Michel of Switzerland.

CAO CHANG CHINA MIXED DOUBLES CURLER "In our second contest, we felt better about the venue and competition than on the first time. As a new team, we want to try our best, and learn from our opponents."

Cao and Yuan have only been curling together since January, but quickly bonded while competing at events in both China and Europe, before emerging as the host nation's top pairing ahead of the Grand Final.

YUAN MINGJIE CHINA MIXED DOUBLES CURLER "We really enjoy ourselves. Even though we are not the best in this event, we loosened up a little bit, and focused on having fun. But we also want to show what we can do."

The Chinese tandem's optimism after shocking the Swiss squad was soon dashed, however, when they fell to the USA's Sarah Anderson and Korey Dropkin. So one step forward, but the search for consistency continues.

"I think we need more time to start playing as a cohesive team. We are also quite inexperienced compared to other teams like Canada, so we need to learn from each result."

But to really make an impact at the 2022 Winter Olympics, China's mixed double curlers will need to juggle a short preparation period, and an even shorter learning curve against some of the best combinations on the planet. DJ, CGTN.