Villau and Riidebach beat defending champions South Korea 9-5 in the third-place match, while Japan took gold with an 11-2 win over hosts Scotland in the final.

"We are overwhelmed and speechless. We came to the World Cup with high hopes, but not really high hopes as there are a lot of strong teams participating who could have won a medal. We are extremely happy," said Riidebach after winning bronze.

Riidebach also expressed hope that the team's success may also inspire more people to take up the sport in Estonia. "I hope it will bring more people to the sport because at the moment there are only three of us. So, I hope this good result will inspire more people to join in," Riidebach said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by World Curling (@worldcurling)

"This was the only chance for Estonia to qualify for the Paralympics, as we are not represented in any other disciplines. This is so important! We did it! It was an impossible task, to be honest," Riidebach added.

The Estonian team was coached at the tournament by Aleksander Andre and assisted by Sander Kirotar. "The whole tournament was like climbing the mountains of America, beating the former world champions and then losing to the last team in the sub-group, then beating the leader of Group A and losing to Japan," said Andre.

"I got a good feeling that the team was able to cope with the heavy psychological load and gathered themselves for the decisive game. The technical quality, self-control and discipline in that match was the best I've ever seen, but we cannot rest on our laurels. There are a number of things that need to be improved, worked on and worked towards," he added.

The tournament was the first time Villau and Riidebach have competed together as a duo. Riidebach previously competed with Mait Mätas for the previous two years, while in 2022 Mätas and Signe Falkenberg paired up for the competition.

---

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!