Russia, Scotland reach women' s curling final

Russia and Scotland advanced to the women's final at the European Curling Championships, in Esbjerg, western Denmark, on Thursday.

The Russian women's team is leading the standings after the round-robin stage with eight wins and one loss, while Denmark is in fourth place with six wins and three losses.

In a tight encounter in the Granly Hockey Arena, Denmark took the lead with 2-1 after the first three ends. However, Russia's skip Anna Sidorova hit out a Danish stone to score two points in the fourth end, overtaking the lead 3-2.

The score went point to point in the second half, but Denmark's Lene Nielsen drew to score two points in the ninth end to tie the score at 5-5. Finally, Russia won the game narrowly with Sidorova scored one point in the last round.

In the other semifinal, Finland had a flying start with a 5-0 lead after the first three ends. Scotland scored 4 points straight in the fourth and fifth end that reduced Finland's lead to 5-4. The Finns scored one point in the sixth end, but the Scots scored 2 points in the seventh end to tie the score at 6-6.

In a decisive eighth end, Scotland's skip Eve Muirhead scored two points to take an 8-6 lead. The Scots went on to score another point in the tenth end and sealed the win 9-7.

The bronze medal games and men's semifinals are scheduled for Friday and the finals will take place on Saturday. Endi