Miku Nihira (Sapporo, JPN) lost
10-3 to
Xenia Schwaller (Zurich, SUI) in the Final of the World Junior Curling Championships, held February 17 - 24, 2024 in Lohja, Finland. To advance to the championship game, Nihira won
8-5 over
Torhild Bjoernstad (Oppdal, NOR) in the semifinals
Nihira finished 7-2 in the 10-team qualifying round. . In their opening game, Nihira defeated
Moa Dryburgh (Stockholm, SWE) 7-6, then won
8-5 against
Robyn Munro (Stirling, SCO) and
9-7 against
Sara Messenzehl (Fuessen, GER). Nihira went on to lose
6-3 against
Schwaller. Nihira lost
7-5 to
Myla Plett (Sherwood Park, CAN) where Nihira responded with a
7-5 win over
Zhuo Han (HARBIN, CHN). Nihira won
6-3 against
Bjoernstad, then won
8-2 against
Korea's Hanbyeol Park and
9-1 against
Ilknur Urusan (Erzurum, TUR) in their final qualifying round match.
With their runner-up finish at the World Junior Curling Championships, Nihira take home
24.750 world rankings points. Nihira move up 7 spots after posting a net gain of 21 points improving upon their best 8 results so far this season, ranking 28th overall with
114.000 total points on the
World Ranking Standings. Nihira ranks 28th overall on the
Year-to-Date rankings with
114.000 points earned so far this season.
