Japan (batting) fell behind twice in the Championship game before rallying to defeat Singapore for the title. (Photo courtesy of Softball Confederation Asia)

JAPAN MAKES SUCCESSFUL AJMC DEBUT
2005-12-16

The 3rd Asian Jr. Men’s Championship has concluded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a new champion being crowned.

Japan participated in the event for the first time and left their mark on the tournament by winning five of their six games en route to the title. Although two teams (India and Iran) were late withdrawals, five countries still participated in the under-19 event, which is held every four years.

The competition took place at the Victoria Institution School field and Japan made their mark right out of the gate. The very first game matched the newcomers against the two-time defending champions, the Philippines. Japan put their opponent and the other three teams on notice with a 9-2 victory.

A couple other highlights from the preliminary round were close games filled with lots of offense, including a 10-8 Philippines win over Thailand, and a 9-8 win by the Philippines over Malaysia.

The latter result was avenged in the first playoff game however, with Malaysia eliminating the defending champions with a 10-9 win. Japan then blanked Singapore, who as a result had to play Malaysia the next morning. They bounced back in a big way to advance to the gold medal game against Japan and leave the hosts with the bronze medals.

In the grand final, Singapore opened the scoring with a run in the first inning before Japan countered with two of their own in the second. That lead would be short-lived though as Singapore tallied three times in the third inning. However, that would mark the end of their offense and Japan got single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings and two more in the sixth for a 6-4 win.

At the Closing Dinner two days ago, Datuk M. Jegathesan, Deputy President of the Olympic Council Malaysia, awarded Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia the prizes for champion, runner-up, and third place, respectively. The Philippines finished fourth and Thailand, who’d finished third at each of the previous two Asian Jr. Men’s Championships, ended up fifth.

The 4th Asian Jr. Men’s Championship will take place in 2009. The host country will be determined after a bid review process.