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Evenly matched matches at the start of OQE 2017.

Photo: Bingyu Wang, Chinese skip.

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The Olympic Qualification Tournament has been played in Pilsen since Tuesday. The first match was played by the women. In a match of two different halves, the Chinese women finally celebrated the win, playing a virtually unplayable, well-placed stone in the extra end, which the Czechs could not overcome. In the last stone duel of the night, the Czechs won against Finland. In the Kosutka hall itself there is a nice atmosphere, the ice is excellent (Mark Callan), just a bit cold for the coaches (around 8 degrees). The tournament is just getting underway. The women are a little sad because the game against China was well played, but a few inaccuracies allowed Wang to come back. Also missed a bit of luck on a double take out in the tenth end. On Wednesday, we have the Latvians and the Germans. Let's move on.