HARBIN, China—For a long time, any mention of curling would have brought up the country’s salon, not sporting, culture.

Not anymore.

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After all, Marc Pfister didn’t come all the way from Bern, Switzerland, to settle for just any medal at the 9th Asian Winter Games.

“We were going for a medal. But not just any other medal. We wanted the gold,” the Filipino Swiss skip said early Friday morning after the national curling team stunned highly favored South Korea, 5-3, in the men’s division finals at Pingfang Curling Arena here.

For long, the sport had been celebrated in memes and reels, with Filipinos putting a humorous spin on the seriousness by which curlers approach their sport using such household items like brooms and coconut husks.

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But even as early as the mixed doubles competition, when Pfister and Kathleen Dubberstein opened the Philippine campaign here with a shock victory over the highly touted Koreans before eventually falling just short of a podium finish, it was clear the sport’s image back home was about to change.

First champ from region

Vice skip Christian Haller whooped it up with Enrico Pfister went and Alan Frei as soon as South Korean skip Lee Jaebeom saw his final stone careen off its intended target on the last end.

That miscalculated drive automatically triggered euphoria among Filipino sports officials, coaches and athletes from other sports that witnessed history unfolding from the stands.

“We wanted to become champions and we did it,” Marc Pfister said.

They became trailblazers, too.

This was the first gold in the Asian Winter Games by the Philippines, which became the first Southeast Asian country ever to top a podium in the event.

And it wasn’t an easy task.

The Filipinos immediately gained ground at the start after four ends, 3-1, before the Koreans stormed back with a pair of singles in the next two ends that leveled the count.

The Koreans, the tournament favorites with vice skip Kim Hyojun and lead Pyo Jeongmin backing up Lee, never wavered by keeping the Filipino curlers on their toes throughout.

Guided by Kim Hyojun and second Kim Eunbin, Lee’s throw on the sixth end equalized the match one last time before Pfister led their calculated assault in the seventh end that broke the ice.

Slaying giants

Even before the shock win, the Philippines men’s team skewered Asian heavyweights on the way to the gold.

Ranked 51st in the world, the Filipinos tripped world No. 10 Japan, 10-4, during the knockout qualification. They then edged world No. 17 China, 7-6, in their semifinal duel on Thursday night prior to setting up the golden duel with the world No. 7 Koreans.

“It was really hard, but we put in a lot of heart,” said Marc Pfister, who represented his mother’s nation after playing for Team Switzerland in the world and European championships.

Alternate Benjo Delarmente joined the team during the awarding ceremony where the Philippine flag was raised and the national anthem played for the first time in these Games.

Now, the country is thrilled with the possibility that the victory by the men’s team could be a prelude to another possible breakthrough in the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, exactly a year from now.

“This is a great achievement that opens the door for our country’s first Winter Olympics medal,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino, who already owns the distinction of being the head of the country’s Olympic program when it ended the long chase for a gold medal in the Summer Games.