Having eased to a 10-2 semi-final victory over hosts Kazakhstan, Japan took an early lead in the final before a score of three points from Korea in the fourth end brought them level at 4-4.

A single point steal in the ninth gave Japan an 8-6 lead and when South Korea could only manage one point in the 10th, their opponents' first female crown in 10 years was confirmed.

"This is my first time to win this title, so this is a very big win for me, and for Japanese women's curling," said skip Satsuki Fujisawa following her team’s 8-7 triumph.

"They got a three at the fourth end and we were worried then, but we stayed strong as a team.

"At the end we were almost out of time, so we were almost more nervous about that than about the game."

Both finalists' teams have now qualified their countries for next year’s Ford Women's Curling Championship, scheduled to take place in Swift Current, Canada, from March 19 to 27.

China bounced back from a 7-6 semi-final defeat against Korea to secure the bronze medal with a one-sided 16-0 win over Kazakhstan, who had already made history by qualifying for the knock-out stage for the first time.

Victory for Japan was sweet revenge after their male counterparts had earlier lost 11-7 against South Korea in the men’s final.

Korea dominated the first-half of the game, scoring a decisive four points with a precision multiple take-out in the fifth end for an 8-1 lead at the break.

Japan fought back in the second half, but a delicate draw onto the button by South Korea skip Soo Hyuk Kim gave his country one point from the ninth end for an 11-7 lead.

The win was sealed soon after as Japan ran out of stones in the 10th to spark South Korean celebrations.

"I'm really happy that we're champions," said Kim, whose county have secured qualification for next year’s World Championship, scheduled to be held in Basel, Switzerland, from April 2 to 10.

"I don't think that was our best game - I think the semi-final was better, but that was good enough to win, thankfully.

"I know we have a ticket to the World Championship now, but we've been concentrating on this competition.

"Our overall goal is to win at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, so we are preparing hard for that."

Japan have the consolation of a silver medal and World Championship qualification, while the bronze went to China after a 5-4 win over New Zealand.

China were aiming to defend the men's and women's titles, and despite finishing third in both competitions, they can take solace from the fact that they’re now eligible to compete in the 2017 Olympic qualification event when the final two places in the Pyeongchang 2018 line-up will be decided.


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