ASIAN GAMES SOFTBALL STARTS SUNDAY
2006-12-07

The 15th Asian Games are underway in Doha, Qatar, and this coming Sunday softball will join the 38 other sports being played there. The competition will mark the fifth straight appearance for softball on the programme of the Asian Games. Women’s fast pitch is played at this, one of over 15 multisport games where softball is found.

China, Chinese Taipei, DPR Korea, Japan, and (South) Korea will compete from December 10-14.

Japan won the last Asian Games softball gold medal (2002 in Busan, Korea) after China had finished first at each of softball’s first three appearances at the event. At the 8th Asian Women’s Softball Championship in Manila in December 2004, Japan defeated Chinese Taipei in the gold medal game. That 12-team tournament served as the qualifier for the 2006 Asian Games competition.

Four of the teams that will be in action beginning this Sunday were part of the 15 countries that competed in the International Softball Federation’s XI Women’s World Championship, August 27-September 5 in Beijing, China. Japan won the silver medal, with China finishing fourth, Chinese Taipei eighth, and DPR Korea 13th.

More recently, Japan finished second at the 4th Japan Cup, where China finished third.

The second biggest multisport event in the world (after the Olympics), the Asian Games take place every four years, with the 16th edition set to take place in November 2010 in Guangzhou, China.