GANGNEUNG, Feb 25 — Tearful South Korea fell agonisingly short in their fairytale bid for women’s curling gold today at their home Olympics as they were beaten 8-3 in the final by ruthless Sweden.

Skip Anna Hasselborg’s Swedes saw off the so-called "Garlic Girls” in Pyeongchang for the Scandinavians’ third Olympic title, after Vancouver in 2010 and Turin four years earlier.

For the Koreans this was the end of a remarkable journey from the eighth-ranked team in the world to Olympic silver medallists.

Skip Kim Eun-jung and her team-mates cried as they waved to the crowd after conceding the final after the ninth end.

The Swedes’ success, watched by King Carl XVI Gustaf, helped alleviate their male counterparts’ pain at losing gold to the United States 24 hours earlier.

Hasselborg was expertly assisted by Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer, Sofia Mabergs and Maria Prytz. — AFP