Final stone heartbreak for young Scots

SCOTLAND'S men – Steven Mitchell, Scott Andrews, Kerr Drummond and the Fraser brothers Ally and Blair – had to settle for silver, losing 7-6 to Switzerland in a final of the World junior Curling Championships in Flims, Switzerland that went all the way to the last stone.

In what was a tight game all the way, Scotland took the upper hand from the start, scoring two in the first end. Yet 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.

That 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 USA beat Switzerland by 9-7 for bronze.

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