After three competition days at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, four teams remain in contention for the medals at the softball competition. Japan and China moved to the Super Round with a perfect record, while Philippines and Chinese Taipei advanced as second place of their respective groups.
World No. 2 Japan took control of Group A with three consecutive wins against No. 40 Hong Kong, China (12-0), No. 5 Chinese Taipei (5-3) and No. 38 Singapore (13-0), and advance to the Super Round undefeated. Chinese Taipei will join them as second-place team, with wins against Singapore (12-0) and Hong Kong, China (10-0).
Both teams will face off with Group B qualified teams: No 11 China and No. 21 Philippines. The host team outscored their opponents 24-0 and swept the group with three shutouts: 9-0 against No. 34 Korea, 7-0 over Philippines and 8-0 over No. 50 Thailand. The Philippines grabbed second place after an 11-0 win over Thailand and a 5-0 victory against Korea, in an elimination game for both squads.
The Super Round will open on Friday, with Japan, China, Chinese Taipei and Philippines battling for the three medals. These are the four teams that represented Asia in the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup Group Stage this past July. The reigning Olympic champions and the home team start the second phase with a 1-0 record (carrying out their wins in the opening group agains Chinese Taipei and Philippines respectively), while their two opponents open with 0-1.
On Friday, Japan will face the Philippines and China will take on Chinese Taipei in two games that could decide the Gold Medal Game teams. You can see the Super Round schedule here and the tournament stats here.
Baseball: Thailand and Laos qualify from first stage, complete Group Round
On Thursday, the baseball competition first stage came to an end with world No. 70 Thailand and No. 75 Laos advancing to the Group Round. Both teams defeated No. 74 Singapore to secure a spot in the next stage.
The key match of the first stage was Laos’ hard-fought win against Singapore, 8-7. With Singapore in front 4-3, a five-run sixth inning gave Laos a crucial lead that proved enough to win the game. Laos survived a late-inning comeback from Singapore, who outhit their rivals 11-5, to grab the key win. Thailand advanced as the top team after beat Laos, 4-1, and Singapore, 17-0.
Thailand and Laos advanced to the Group Round where the top-six ranked teams in the continent are waiting to open their participation in the Asiad.
The Group Round will open in Sunday. Check the schedule here.
