Watching these guys is fun

Italy’s Joel Retornaz qualified for his third career Olympic Winter Games after defeating Lukas Klima of the Czech Republic 6-5 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.

Italy becomes the second men’s team to qualify their nation for Beijing 2022 through the Olympic Qualification Event, following Norway’s unblemished 7-0 round robin record during the week.

It’s fun to watch the Italians play. Two guys, including Retornaz, are somewhat short in stature, at least when compared to the other two guys, who tower over them (and most of the men’s field).

As a result of this, it’s fun to watch them pick each other up after victories. Literally, as in pick them up, hug them, and shake them around.

The tall guys usually start by picking up the small guys. Then, it’s fun to watch the small guys try to pick up the tall guys. That has to be a challenge.

In terms of the game, Italy roared out of the gate with a big three-ender and it was a case of managing the scoreboard the rest of the way. Klima and his mates put up a struggle, cashing a deuce in the fourth end, but they weren’t able to disrupt Retronaz’s game plan after the opening frame.

“We had a good break in the first end and took a three-point lead,” said Retornaz. “Then we just had to control the scoreboard, and we did it well. They put pressure on us because every time we tried to score two, they were able to make a good shot and force us to one.

“There’s a reason they (Czech Republic) were third in the round-robin—they’re a good team and we knew it wasn’t an easy game. We knew we had to play until the end, and we’re happy we won.”

The Czechs get a last chance to qualify on Saturday when they battle Denmark.

In women’s play, Scotland’s Eve Muirhead won first women’s qualifying honours (for Great Britain) before Satsuki Fujisawa qualified Japan with a playoff victory over Kim Eun-Jung’s Korea.

Korea gets a last-gasp attempt to make it to Beijing when they lock horns with Latvia, also on Saturday.