Scotland are edged out on final stone

SCOTLAND’S men had to settle for silver, losing 7-6 to Switzerland in a final of the world junior championships in Flims, Switzerland, that went all the way to the last stone.

Scotland had the upper hand from the start, scoring two in the first end.

However, time and again the Swiss came back, and they drew level for the third time in the ninth, when they scored two for 6-6.

This left Scotland with last stone advantage in the final end, but eventually Scottish skip Ally Fraser, from Inverness, was left with a really difficult weighted attempt to remove two Swiss stones that were locked together on the button.

He hit the first one, but jammed the second, as his own stone rolled out, leaving one Swiss stone on the button, scoring the one shot need for the win and the world crown.

Earlier, Canada had beaten China 7-2 in just eight ends of an uneven contest for the men’s bronze, while Sweden beat Canada by 8-3 for the women’s gold, and the United States beat Switzerland 9-7 for bronze.

Elsewhere, the British wheelchair curlers had a difficult opening day at the Para-lympic Winter Games in Vancouver, going down 9-2 to Canada and 7-5 to Norway.