World No. 1 Japan and No. 7 USA were both awarded the gold medal at The World Games Men’s Softball competition in Chengdu, China after the medal games were cancelled due to rain. No. 6 Canada and No. 2 Venezuela earned the bronze medal. The rain was relentless in Chengdu during the early hours of the day, forcing the cancellation of the two medal games scheduled on Sunday, so two gold medals and two bronze medals were awarded.
For Japan, the gold medal marks their first title in a major international competition, after losing both of their previous World Cup finals in 2019 and 2000.
“Every international event is a very precious time for us,” said Japan head coach Shinji Eguchi. “It’s a great honour for us to win. I’m very happy. We would have preferred to win in a different way, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
For USA, the title is also a milestone — their first championship in a major international men’s softball event since 1988 in Saskatoon, Canada.
“It’s sort of a realisation of everything we’ve put in,” said USA head coach Ron Hackett. “I’ve been associated with the programme since about 2015, starting with the futures programme with a lot of young kids, and they’re all here now. I became head coach in 2019, and it’s been a nice journey. It’s the medal we wanted, not the way we wanted it, but we have no control over that. I think it would have been a great game, but I’m not disappointed in anything.”
The bronze medal was shared by Venezuela and Canada.
Venezuela’s medal completes a remarkable summer in which they also won the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup 2025/2026 in Prince Albert last month.
“I thought my greatest satisfaction was leading the women’s team to the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” said Venezuela head coach Delio López. “But these two championships – the World Cup in Canada and, above all, this one – are the best. Going back to my country with another medal, when it was practically not expected, is a great achievement that deserves recognition for all these athletes.”
For Canada, the medal marks a return to the podium after a disappointing result at last month’s World Cup, and a fitting send-off for retiring head coach John Stuart.
“Very happy for our players,” said Stuart. “It’s been a long journey here, and I’m very proud to finish my career with a medal. This is my last event as head coach of the national team. I’ve been with Softball Canada for 16 years, 11 as head coach. Other than the past World Cup, I medalled at every World Cup – the only country to do that – so I’m very proud of that.”
The last time a major men’s softball event could not be completed due to rain was the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup 1976, when the playoffs were rained out and the championship was awarded jointly to Canada, New Zealand, and USA.
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