Japanese women’s softball team wins 7th consecutive Asian Games title in Nagoya! Yukiko Ueno wins 7 golds

Japan's women's softball team showed Asia's hegemony in the Asian Games gold medal match in Nagoya today, knocking off China 7-0 in five games ahead of schedule, creating an unprecedented 7th consecutive Asian Games championship; 25-year-old ace left-hander Nozomi Goto started 5 scoreless games and became the biggest contributor to the championship. The 44-year-old legendary pitcher Ueno Yukiko also set a super record with 7 gold medals in what may be her last Asian Games.

Japan just narrowly defeated China 7:6 in the final match of the preliminaries yesterday. Today, they met again in the championship game. In the second inning, they relied on their opponent's defense to hinder the base running. Then Ayane Nakagawa hit a sacrifice fly in the right field to take a 2:0 lead. In the 4th inning, Ishikawa Kyoko hit another bases-clearing triple, adding 3 points in one breath, and added 2 more points in the 5th inning. Finally, the game ended early with 7:0, and they reached the top with a complete victory.

Goto suppressed China's fight. After the game, she said that the Tokyo Olympics were held without spectators. She was particularly happy to win the championship in front of many fans in her hometown of Nagoya this time. Looking forward to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, she emphasized that this Asian Games is just a process towards the goal, and the first priority is still to qualify for the Olympics.

Yukiko Ueno is another focus of Japan's championship. She has competed in 7 consecutive Asian Games since the 2002 Busan Asian Games, writing a personal feat of 7 gold medals in the Asian Games. She also won gold twice in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Ueno previously revealed that this may be his last Asian Games and he hopes to have no regrets.