Olympics-Curling-Japan win bronze to claim first Olympic medal

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Japan claimed their first Olympic women's curling medal on Saturday, scoring a point in each of the final three ends to edge Britain 5-3 and win the bronze.

The match was a tight tactical affair from start to finish with neither rink putting up more than one point in an end.

The first mistake came in the ninth and fell to British skip Eve Muirhead who missed on a takeout on her final rock, allowing Japan to steal a point and nose in front 4-3.

Britain needed a point to force extra ends but Japan stole another one when Muirhead misfired on her final stone.

Japan's win guarantees Asia will have two teams on the medal podium with South Korea taking on Sweden in the gold-medal final on Sunday. (Reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Clare Fallon)