New Olympic baseball, softball scheduled confirmed for Tokyo 2020 Games

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee officially, together with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced the new Olympic softball and baseball schedules as part of the confirmed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games competition programme in 2021.

The Olympic softball event will have the honour of being the first event to take place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with the first game at 09:00 on Wednesday 21 July 2021, at Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium, with the Gold Medal Game scheduled for 27 July at Yokohama Baseball Stadium.

The baseball tournament at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020 will open on Wednesday, 28 July 2021, Day 5 of the Olympic Games, at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium. The rest of the tournament will be played at the Yokohama Baseball Stadium.

"We are pleased to be able to announce the confirmed new dates for the return of softball and baseball to the Olympic Games," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari. "We are also proud to be able to open the Games and have great respect that our sport will be making its Olympic comeback in Fukushima, a city that embodies more than any other sport's power to unite and rebuild communities."

Japan's second Summer Olympic Games are expected to be remembered as a powerful symbol of recovery and resurgence, being held after the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Olympic baseball and softball events are set to play a special role, with a total of seven games -- the first six softball games and the opening baseball fixture -- scheduled in Fukushima, a region that has been undergoing a continued regeneration following the devastating 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were originally planned for 24 July - 9 August 2020, before being rescheduled in light of the global coronavirus pandemic.

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only