November 9, 2014
Banners in Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Nov. 7. (Photo/CNA)
Retired Japanese-Taiwanese baseball star Sadaharu Oh and Taiwanese vice president Wu Den-yih made an appearance at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Friday to officially open the 21U Baseball World Cup, a new biennial tournament for players under the age of 21.
Wu threw the first pitch and Oh batted at the opening ceremony Friday evening in the central Taiwanese city.
Following the opening ceremony, Taiwan, which participates under the name Chinese Taipei, was set to face off against Mexico at 7pm.
Preliminary games began earlier Friday, when Venezuela played against Nicaragua, Australia took on Japan, Italy went up against New Zealand, and the Czech Republic squared off with South Korea, according to the event schedule.
A total of 11 national teams are participating in the first 21U World Cup, which runs through Nov. 16 at three different venues in Taichung and Yunlin county.
The teams are allowed to carry six 23U players on their 24-man rosters. Teams will be able to make use of a maximum of three 23U players in the line-up at the same time, according to the International Baseball Federation.
The 21U tournament will be played every two years, with Mexico set to be the next host country.
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