Big pitch for improvement

Since winning silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, China's softball squad has struggled on the international stage. But that could change at the Asian Games.

China's women got off to a great start in Jakarta with a 12-0 thrashing of host Indonesia on Sunday before blanking China's Hong Kong 10-0 the next day and dropping a 1-0 nailbiter to the Philippines.

Starting last season, the majority of the national team has competed as the Beijing Shougang Eagles in the US-based National Pro Fastpitch league in order to gain experience against the world's best. In 2017 the Eagles won just three of 47 games, but this season posted 13 victories in 60 contests.