Harbin: South Korea’s Kim Kyeong-ae and Seong Ji-hoon advanced to the playoff match for a berth in the semifinals in the mixed doubles curling at the Asian Winter Games in China on Thursday. Kim and Seong defeated the Kyrgyzstan team of Keremet Asanbaeva and Iskhak Abyeev by 14-3 in their final Group B match in the round-robin phase at Harbin Pingfang District Curling Arena in Harbin.

According to Yonhap News Agency, earlier Thursday, South Korea had lost to China 6-4. Kim and Seong finished the round-robin stage with a record of 3-2, securing third place behind China and the Philippines. The top teams from Groups A and B advanced straight to the semifinals. As the No. 3 seed from Group B, South Korea will face Hong Kong, the runner-up in Group A, in one of two qualification games scheduled for Friday.

The other qualification game will pit the Philippines against the third seed from Group A, Chinese Taipei. Winners of these qualification games will compete in the semifinals set for later Friday. The bronze medal game and the final will both be played Saturday. If South Korea beats Hong Kong, it will set up a rematch against China’s Han Yu and Wang Zhiyu.

The opening ceremony of the ninth Asian Winter Games is Friday, but the preliminary stage in the mixed doubles curling began Tuesday.