Why China were knocked out of Asian Games cricket even before a ball was bowled

Asian Games cricket: China were knocked out without a ball being bowled in the quarter-final on Wednesday. (X)

Two days before the official opening of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, the Chinese women’s cricket team faced an agonising exit without even taking the field.

The opening quarter-final fixture of the women’s T20I cricket event between China and Bangladesh was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to inclement weather around the Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin.

Heavy weather had plagued Korogi Sports Park on the outskirts of Nagoya all week, culminating in a total cancellation of play on Thursday morning, proving costly for the Chinese side, making their third Asiad appearance since 2010.

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Nigar Sultana’s Bangladesh, therefore, advanced to the semi-final stage over China despite an abandoned game. According to the Asian Games cricket Playing Conditions, rule 16.10.2 (b) states that the higher-ranked side will advance in the event of a washout.

Pakistan are scheduled to play Thailand at the same venue in Thursday’s second quarter-final fixture.

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The defeat ends China’s campaign in cricket, with the men’s team not being a part of the eight-nation line-up for the tournament.

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All cricket matches at the Games will be played at the same venue. Bangladesh will now likely face India in the women’s semi-finals. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side will clash with hosts Japan in their quarter-final in Nisshin on Friday.

Both semi-finals will be played on Sunday, with the gold medal match scheduled to be held on September 22.

The Indian men’s team are also scheduled to play Japan in their first bilateral match at the Sano International Cricket Ground, about 100 kilometres from Tokyo, on September 22. Team India led by Shreyas Iyer will face the Japan team captained by Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming in the T20 International.

The match is part of the celebrations to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in July, the two sides had announced 2027 as the ‘India-Japan Year of Shared Horizons’ to mark the milestone.