The Czech Republic and Chinese Taipei have confirmed their places in the final of the II WBSC U-12 Softball World Cup after Czech Republic beat Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei defeated Singapore in the semifinals at Jin-Long Stadium on Saturday.
The Europeans will make their first final appearance in a WBSC tournament after their bronze medal finishes in the 2019 edition of the U-12 Softball World Cup and the U-18 Softball World Cup in 2020. Four players racked up multiple hits, including Natalie Budinova who had two hits and three RBIs to lead the offence-driven Czech team to a 16-1 victory over Hong Kong in the first semifinal game.
“We are glad that we are in the final game. I think we are
also well prepared for the next game. I really believe that the key will be our
pitchers and our strength is our offence. The kids are prepared for any
situations (against Chinese Taipei),” Czech Republic head coach Jana Klempirova
said.
Chinese Taipei kept their winning streak going in the competition with a 15-0 win over Singapore to maintain their bid to defend their title. The hosts’ semifinal victory was highlighted by the three home runs made by En-Ruei Tsao, Sheng-Zhi Wu and Yu-Yang Wu in the second inning, among their 13 hits and 13 RBIs produced in the game.
“I let everyone focus on this game first. I have delegated the task to the trainers on what to instruct the players and told them to just play as they usually do. We have been mixing it up each game and we adjusted the positions of the players each time. The focus is mostly on the situation of our pitchers and giving each one a chance to go on the field and have a feel of the game,” Chinese Taipei head coach Chi Tsu Wu said.
Meanwhile, India finished fifth in the tournament after conceding to Singapore 10-0 in their quarterfinal game on Saturday morning.
Sunday’s medal games will start at 11:00 local time (UTC+8), when Singapore face Hong Kong to play for the bronze medal, followed by the gold medal contest between the Czech Republic and Chinese Taipei at 13:00.
