Final Olympic Spot To Be Decided At Asia/Oceania Qualifier

By Kayla Lombardo
on September 20, 2019

The WBSC Softball Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifier is set to take place next week in Shanghai, China.

The event, which will occur September 23-28, will feature eight countries that will vie for the final softball spot at next summer's Olympics. Thus far, five of the six teams that will be featured in the Tokyo Games have been decided and include the United States, Japan, Italy, Mexico and Canada.

Competing next week in China for the final spot will be the best six countries from the Asia Cup, according to the standings, as well as the top two squads from Oceania.

Group A will feature eighth-ranked China, No. 11 New Zealand, No. 13 Philippines and No. 23 Korea, while Group B will include sixth-ranked Chinese Taipei, No. 7 Australia, No. 37 Indonesia and No. 42 Hong Kong. The top two teams in their groups will advance to the Super Rounds, with the top squad in the tournament's final standings advancing to the Olympics.

The qualifier will be streamed live on the WBSC YouTube Channel.

See below for the event's full schedule.

Monday, September 23

10 p.m. - Indonesia vs. Hong Kong

Tuesday, September 24

12:30 a.m. - Australia vs. Chinese Taipei

3 a.m. - New Zealand vs. China

5:30 a.m. - Philippines vs. Korea

10 p.m. - Hong Kong vs. Chinese Taipei

Wednesday, September 25

12:30 a.m. - Indonesia vs. Australia

3 a.m. - China vs. Philippines