Cruel medal defeat for Bruce Mouat and Gina Aitken
Murrayfield curlers Gina Aitken and Bruce Mouat finished in the cruellest place of all after losing the bronze medal play-off match at the Mixed Doubles World Championship in Karlstad, Sweden, but there was some consolation for them as they walked away with nine precious Olympic qualifying points.
A top-eight finish had been their pre-tournament goal, and they achieved that the hard way, scoring three 6-5 wins in a row and beating the reigning champions and title favourites from Hungary to reach the last four.
China’s Rui Wang and Dexin Ba ended their miraculous run 7-5 in the semi-finals before US pair Tabitha Peterson and Joe Polo edged the third-place play-off 9-7 to leave the Scots without a medal but with their heads held high.
Mouat is now on his way to compete in the end-of-season Champions Cup in Edmonton after receiving a special invitation following his victory at last month’s World Junior Championship in Copenhagen.