The dream of an Olympic semi-final is alive and well for Denmark's women's curling team.
On Wednesday morning, skipper Madeleine Dupont and her teammates blew a 6-1 lead and seemed shaken, but recovered in time to claim an 8-7 win at the end of the match against China.
Thanks to the victory, Denmark now has four wins and four defeats, and that is just enough to keep alive the chance of finishing in the top 4 and advancing to the semi-finals.
First and foremost, this requires a victory over Switzerland on Wednesday evening, but in addition, other results must also go Denmark's way.
On Wednesday morning, things started brilliantly for Denmark. The first end ended 2-0 in Danish favor, and when the third end ended with four Danish stones closest to the house, the gap was extended to 6-1.
From then on, things seemed to fall apart for the Danes.
China scored a point in both the fourth and fifth ends, and in the sixth end, several big Danish mistakes cost two more points. Both Denise and Madeleine Dupont sent stones straight through the house along the way.
China also restored parity at 6-6, before Madeleine Dupont stopped the decline with a fine final stone in the eighth end and gave Denmark a 7-6 lead.
The skipper also showed the way in the ninth end and limited the damage to a single Chinese point with a masterful final stone, as the Danes carried the momentum into the last end, where they had the luxury of placing the last stone.
In the tenth end, the Danes set themselves up nicely for Madeleine Dupont to secure the necessary point with the last stone. But it was not necessary when the Chinese skipper settled the drama with an imprecise stone.