By Liam Morgan

China maintained their 100 per cent record with wins over Finland and Scotland on day two ©WCF/Alina PaulyuchikChina and Russia have maintained their 100 per cent records with victories in both sessions of the World Wheelchair Curling Championship in Lohja, Finland, today.

The Chinese side started the day with an 8-4 win over the host nation in the morning before they built on that result by earning their second triumph as they beat Scotland 6-4.

Russia, meanwhile, made light work of Norway in the opening session as they earned an 8-3 win that came largely thanks to steals and a crucial fifth end in which they took three points, before going on to sweep aside Slovakia 11-6 in the afternoon.

"It was a mistake from Norway, one big mistake and they gave up three points," Russian coach Anton Batugin said.

"We played defensive and the Norwegians tried to build something but made some key errors.

"That end was really important for our win today."

Reigning world and Paralympic champions Canada fell to their second successive surprise defeat as they were on the wrong side of a narrow 6-4 scoreline against Germany, however they did banish their demons somewhat as they returned to beat Finland in the second session of the day.

"Well it's really nice to get onto the win column," Canada skip Mark Ideson said.

"You know the 15 or 16 ends before that we were always in the game, each end we were always in it, we just weren't capitalising on our opportunities.

"Today we've been finally able to do that and that's a big step forward for us."

The United States were involved in a fascinating clash with Slovakia as they recovered from 4-0 down to win 9-7 ©WCF/Alina PaulyuchikThe United States were involved in a fascinating clash with Slovakia as they recovered from 4-0 down to win 9-7 ©WCF/Alina Paulyuchik



Elsewhere, Slovakia and the United States played out an intriguing contest which the Americans eventually edged by a tight margin, claiming a 9-7 win despite conceding four points in the first end.

The US hit back by snatching three in the second end, and the topsy-turvy nature of the contest continued throughout.

Slovakia went back in front with a 6-3 advantage before the US demonstrated their character by levelling the match at 6-6 after the fourth end thanks to a precise draw from skip Patrick McDonald.

They then took the lead for the first time and managed to hold on to claim their second win of the championships.

Elsewhere, Scotland are tied in third in the standings, with both the US and Germany after one win and one loss today, while Norway and Slovakia are still awaiting their first successes of the tournament as both have a 0-3 record.

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