Japan, Chinese Taipei, China advance to WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup

Japan, Chinese Taipei, China advance to WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup
09/11/2019
The top three finishers of the U-17 Women’s Softball Asia Cup will represent the Asian continent in the global event. Japan defeated Chinese Taipei in the final and claimed the Asian title

World No. 2 Japan, No. 6 Chinese Taipei and No. 8 China clinched their tickets to the WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup 2020 as the top three nations of the inaugural U-17 Women Softball Asia Cup, held at the Yilong Baseball-Softball Stadium in Guizhou, China.

Japan won the title with a 5-4 win over Chinese Taipei in the final day of competition; while China earned the bronze medal and the last spot in the World Cup with a 6-5 victory over the Philippines, in another close match.

The three Asian nations join No. 1 USA, No. 5 Mexico, No. 3 Canada, No. 4 Puerto Rico and No.20 Peru as the qualified teams for next year’s WBSC U-18 Women’s Softball World Cup.

A five-time world champion, Japan has participated in every youth World Cup. The Asian champion has played 12 of the 13 World Championship Games, including the last 10 in a row. Japan claimed the title in 1981, 1991, 1999, 2003 and 2013. They have won a medal in every youth World Cup.

Chinese Taipei has clinched two bronze medals in history, in 1999 (as host) and 2011. It will be the 13rd appearance of the team in the youth World Cup; they only missed the event in 2013 in Brampton, Canada. In 2019 they ended fifth place, with a global record of 5-4.

China has played all the 13 previous editions of the Youth World Cup, winning it all in 1985 in North Dakota, USA. However, after being in the podium the first three editions, they couldn’t earn a medal in the last ten tournaments.

Final standings

  1. Japan
  2. Chinese Taipei
  3. China
  4. Philippines
  5. Korea
  6. India
  7. Thailand