Canada's Homan, Morris drop opener to Great Britain in mixed doubles curling

Canadian mixed doubles curling duo John Morris and Rachel Homan dropped the opening game of Canada's Olympic title defence with a 6-4 loss to reigning world champions Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds of Great Britain on Thursday morning in Beijing.

Morris and Homan, the first Canadians to compete at Beijing 2022, faced a stiff challenge in their opening round-robin game against a top rival for the gold.

Great Britain entered the game with momentum after kicking off the tournament with a solid 9-5 win over Sweden's Oskar Eriksson and Almida de Val. The British duo won gold at the world mixed doubles championship last May.

Mouat, one of the top skips in the world, is also a gold-medal threat in the men's event after winning silver at the world championships last April.

Morris had two uncharacteristic misses in the first end against Great Britain, but Homan saved the end and opened the scoring with a hit and roll to the button to score one.

Great Britain pulled even with a single in the second end before taking a 2-1 lead with a steal of one in the third end.

WATCH l Canada falls to Great Britain in mixed doubles curling opener:

Morris began to get things going in the fourth end after a slow start as the Canadians tied the game at two apiece.

Great Britain reclaimed the lead with single in the fifth, but Homan stepped up once again by scoring a clutch double on the final shot of the sixth end to give Canada a 4-3 lead.

Great Britain responded by scoring two in the seventh end to take a one-point lead.

Canada had the hammer in the final end, but Morris missed a double. Dodds then made a great shot to give Great Britain the win, with Canada unable to make anything happen on their final shot.

Despite the loss, Canada is poised to go