KKR / Rožkova with a victory in the Latvian championship secures a place in the Beijing Games

On Tuesday, September 29, the 2020 Latvian Wheelchair Championship ended. After winning three games in a row, the team led by Polina Rozhkova triumphed and automatically became the Latvian national team of the Beijing Paralympic Games, reports the Latvian Curling Association (LCA).

This year, as in the previous two years, two teams competed in the Latvian Championship – KKR / Rožkova and Alliance / Dimbovskis, leading the games to three victories of one team.

Latvia’s leading wheelchair team started the championship unconvincingly, as the drivers with 0: 4 were at the start of the first game. However, Rožkova managed to make up for the loss when two points (4: 4) were stolen in the fifth end, which were supplemented with four more points stolen in the sixth and seventh end, reaching 8: 4 in his favor. Dimbovkis regained two points in the last end, although it was not enough to win, which, after a successful start, caused a painful loss with 6: 8.

Despite the fact that Dimbovskis team played the whole championship in three players, because one of the players could not go to the ice before the competition due to illness, in the second game they still stubbornly resisted the Rozhkov Quartet. Failures in the seventh end allowed Dimbovskis’ opponents to score four stones and win the game 9: 4.

Exactly on Tuesday, September 29, it was decided whether the championship will be continued after the third game, or whether we will find out this year’s Latvian champions already in the afternoon. The convincing Rozhkov team games left no opponents with any hope of escape and additional games. After four endings, the four-point lead (5: 1) was supplemented by four more stolen points (9: 1) in the next two ends. Symbolically, Dimbowski played one in the seventh (2: 9), after which his hands were shaken.

Thus, Polina Rožkova, Ojārs Briedis, Agris Lasmans, Sergejs Djačenko, Diāna Dadzīte, coach Arnis Veidemanis and assistant coach Rihards Jeske become Latvian champions this year. They also gain the right to represent Latvia at the World Trolley Curling Championships in 2021 (March 6-13), which will take place in Beijing, China, as well as for the first time in the history of Latvian curling and Paralympic sports to participate in the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Winter Games.

Team compositions:

KKR / Rožkova: Ojārs Briedis, Agris Lasmans, Sergejs Djačenko, Polina Rožkova, Diāna Dadzīte, coach Arnis Veidemanis, assistant coach Rihards Jeske.

Alliance/Dimbovskis: Galina Pavlova, Yuri Vololgin, Alexander Vitohin, Alexander Dimbovsky, Julia Pavlovsky-Killiane, coach Kirill Savushkin.

Game results:
8: 6 KKR / Rožkova – Alliance / Dimbovskis
9: 4 KKR / Rožkova – Alliance / Dimbovskis
9: 2 KKR / Rožkova – Alliance / Dimbovskis

Curling Club transcript:
KKR – Curling club Riga

The competition was supported by the Latvian Paralympic Committee and the Latvian Curling Association.