04/09/2023 1 Minute Read

Japan beat Chinese Taipei for U-18 Women’s Softball Asian title, both qualify for World Cup along with China

China earned the third spot in the World Cup with a 6-1 win over the Philippines in the bronze medal game.

Japan clinched the U-18 Women’s Softball Asian title defeating Chinese Taipei, 1-0, in the final. Both teams were already qualified for the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup. China also qualified after earning the third spot in the World Cup with a 6-1 win over Philippines in the bronze medal game.

World No. 2 Japan beat No. 5 Chinese Taipei, 1-0, in Sunday’s final. Soa Shimanaka scored the lone run of the game in the first inning, taking advantage of a defensive error after hitting a double to cross the plate. Oguri Shino, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, outduelled Chinese Taipei’s Emroy Cheng and got the win for Japan.

“Winning the MPV award really surprised me because I thought there were many others who deserved it,” Shino said after the awarding ceremony. “I now want to work hard and hopefully get noticed to be called for selection for the national team.”

“I must admit that although we were a better all round team, today we had luck on our side,” Japans’s head coach Yuhei Yamauchi said. “I must commend my players for holding on to the slim early lead. It was indeed a difficult game and I must commend Chinese Taipei for their performance today.”

The eight-team tournament took place at the state-of-the-art, 5,000 seat Pingtan Baseball Stadium in Pingtan, China.

The WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup will begin in 2024 with the three groups of the Group Stage, with the Finals scheduled for 2025. The dates and hosts of the four competitions will be announced at a later stage. World No. 8 Italy, 10 Czechia, and No. 17 Ireland are the other three qualified nations so far for the World Cup.

Final standings: