By Aadi Nair
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Niklas Edin-led Swedish men's team made a poor start to their Olympic gold medal defence on Wednesday as they were beaten 7-6 by Joel Retornaz's Italy in their opening round-robin game at the Winter Games.
Edin -- who won his third medal at the Beijing Games four years ago -- had a difficult start as he miscued a shot which allowed Italy to steal a point in the first end, with Sweden levelling the game at 1-1 in the fourth end.
The score
took away Sweden's last-stone advantage and Italy immediately made them regret it, as Retornaz nailed a pinpoint takeout to score three points and give the hosts a 4-1 lead at the halfway point.
Edin hit back with a double takeout to score two and though Italy were able to score once more in the seventh, the Swedish skip's draw for two points levelled the game at 5-5 in the eighth end.
Italy scored two in the penultimate end to take a 7-5 lead and a rapidly ticking clock added a sense of jeopardy, with Edin managing to score just one point on the last stone to succumb to defeat.
Bruce Mouat, who missed out on a mixed doubles medal with Jennifer Dodds after finishing fourth, led Britain to a 9-4 win over China as the 2025 world champions reaffirmed their status as favourites.
Brad Jacobs's Canada were pushed by 2024 European champions Germany before securing a 7-6 victory in an extra end, while the United States, cheered on by a large contingent of supporters at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, beat the Czech Republic 8-7.
Teams play nine matches in the round-robin stage, which continues on Thursday, with the top four advancing to the semi-finals next week. The women's competition also begins on Thursday.
(Reporting by Aadi NairEditing by Toby Davis)
