MS Mixed Doubles 2024.
Twenty countries are participating in the 2024 World Curling Championships, Mixed Doubles category in Östersund, Sweden. Thanks to the result from the last world championship (15th place - Zelingrova, Chabičovský), the Czech Republic has maintained its position in the elite company and for this year has deployed the champion pair Zuzana Paulová, Tomáš Paul, accompanied by coach Wade Scoffin. The Czech pair started the competition with two defeats, namely to Scotland and Canada. They followed up with two wins against New Zealand and China. The next three duels were crucial for the eventual position at the top of the starting field. Two losses to seemingly "playable" opponents (Korea, Australia) pushed the Czech national team's ambitions to participate in the play-offs to a theoretical level. In particular, the loss to the opposing team, influenced by the fluctuation of the players' mental setup after their own time-out, which did not result in a clear and justified idea of the continuation of the endgame, was most distressing. However, a concentrated and improved performance by the Pauls against the Hamiltons (USA) subsequently resulted in an important win that puts the Czech pair somewhat away from the very bottom of the table. Placing in the penultimate two places in the individual groups means that the team is obliged to play a match for the retention of the 16-member line-up that is guaranteed to participate in the next championship. Our eighth match, against the Swedes (Wranå, Wranå), was not easy to reverse after two cashed threes in the second and fourth end, and the result of 4 : 7 after seven ends (and the eighth end played) corresponds to a difference in the success rate of stones played of more than twenty percentage points in favour of the Swedish pair. The final match against the Netherlands will be a match for the position in the group, and for the overall position. In addition to the result on our course, the outcome of the China-Korea and Australia-New Zealand matches will also play a role, and the so-called DSC (Draw Shot Challenge) may also play a part in the final standings.