This is the first time softball has returned to the Olympic stage in 13 years since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Azuma Baseball Stadium in Fukushima, Japan. The picture comes from the official website of the Tokyo Olympics.
In August 2016, the International Olympic Committee plenary session voted to include five sports including baseball and softball, skateboarding, surfing, rock climbing and karate into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. These events are very popular among young people and are considered to be a major change in the Olympic movement's embrace of modernity and compliance with trends.
Baseball and softball is known as the "national sport" in Japan. It has high popularity and a long history of development. It has a broad base and strong strength, and is especially favored by young people. The popularity of baseball in Japan can be compared with the status of table tennis in China.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Japan's women's softball team unexpectedly defeated the United States team, which had won three consecutive championships, 3:1, and won its first Olympic gold medal in one fell swoop. Previously, Japan's women's softball team won one silver and one bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics. Playing at home in this Olympics, the defending champion Japanese team is determined to win and strive to continue its glory. However, due to the epidemic, the Tokyo Olympics will be held in an "empty venue" without spectators, which will undoubtedly weaken the home field advantage of the host Japanese team to a certain extent.
As a traditional strong team in softball, the United States team won 22 consecutive Olympic games before losing to the Japanese team in the 2008 Beijing Olympic finals, and its dominance is difficult to shake. This time in Tokyo, the American team is bound to avenge its past humiliation and return to the top of the world. American "ace pitcher" Monica Abbott, who has played in the Japanese League for many years, will also play.
In addition, the Australian women's softball team is also a strong team that cannot be underestimated. It has won three bronzes and one silver in all previous Olympic Games. In addition to these three strong teams, there are also three teams from Italy, Canada and Mexico participating. The six teams will compete in a round-robin competition and finally compete for the championship.
Softball was first listed as an Olympic event in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. After holding four Olympic games, it temporarily left the Olympic stage in 2012 and 2016. However, softball, like baseball, has been determined not to be included as an official event in the 2024 Paris Olympics. It is still unknown whether it will enter the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This brief return may be a "flash in the pan."
The Tokyo Olympics softball competition kicked off at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium, but most of the schedule is still scheduled at the Yokohama Baseball Stadium in Kanagawa Prefecture, and the champion will be decided on the 27th. Softball returns after many years, and it coincides with the home court of the powerful Japan. It will definitely set off a heat wave in this summer's Olympic Games.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
