China crowned IFAF Asia-Oceania Women’s Champions

In a thrilling display of skill and determination, Team China emerged victorious in both the IFAF Asian and Asia-Oceania Championships, defeating Japan 25-22 and Australia 36-29. These victories not only crowned them champions but also secured their spot, along with Japan, for the upcoming World Championships.

Japan strikes first
Still, it was Japan who struck first in the Asian title game against China, scoring their opening touchdown after just two plays. After a running play netted 7 yards, quarterback Chihiro Iwata found wide receiver Yurika Mi Rokukawa running free downfield and hit her with the 38-yard scoring strike. Iwata went back to Rokukawa for the 1-point conversion to make the score 7-0 Japan. The teams exchanged unsuccessful drives, and then on China’s second drive, quarterback XinYu Niu hit Wen Ze Lin in stride for a 21-yard score. The point after failed, leaving the score 7-6 Japan.

China fights back
The Japanese increased their lead when Tomo Yagi caught the ball and was tackled on the 4-yard line, then Iwata once again connected with Mi for her second touchdown of the game. Miyuna Yamamoto caught the one-point conversion, and Japan led by 8. After a trick play long pass from Rokukawa to Iwata, and three penalties on China moved the ball to the half-yard line, Iwata took a knee to move the ball back to the 5. Iwata threw her third touchdown pass to Yuri Nakahata. The point after failed, and Japan led China 20-6 at the end of the first half.

Dramatic second half
China opened the second half by driving steadily downfield, culminating in a 2-yard pass from Niu to center Xin Wang. The point after failed, but China had closed to within one score, 20-12. China held Japan to a four-and-out, and it appeared that momentum was favoring China. That shifted back to Japan when rusher Koyuki Morinaga pulled Niu’s flag in her own end zone for a safety. Japan 22, China 12.

Team China shrugged that off, and Niu hit her receiver for a one-yard score. The two-point conversion failed, but China pulled to within 4. Japan drove down the field against a stubborn Chinese defense, but on 4th down from the 4-yard line, Iwata’s pass fell incomplete, and China took over with 1 minute left in the game. With 28 seconds left, Niu found Wang for the receiver’s second score of the game, and the go-ahead touchdown. Lin hauled in the conversion, and China was ahead 25-22 with only seconds left.

China secures the championship
Japan’s last drive approached midfield, but on the last play of the game, the Chinese rush rose to the occasion with a game-ending sack that preserved the Chinese victory.

With their Asian Championship secured, China then faced the Oceania Champion Australia to determine the Asia-Oceania overall championship.

Back-and-forth battle
China opened the scoring when Niu tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wen Ze Lin, and then found her again for the 2-point conversion. Australia came right back, needing only three plays before Tessa Davis located Kyana Gordon Belo running free for a 39-yard touchdown, and then Davis hit Gordon Belo for the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 8 apiece.

With just under 5 minutes left in the first half, the Niu to Lin combination clicked again, this time from 8 yards out, and then they repeated for a one-point conversion to pull ahead 15-8. With 2 minutes left, Davis dropped the ball into the hands of Amelie Prosser-Shaw from 16 yards out and hit her again to tie the score at 15 each.

The tie did not last long, and with 41 seconds to go until half, the Niu to Lin express worked again, both for the 8-yard touchdown and the 1-point conversion. The Chinese defense slowed down Australia, but an illegal contact penalty gave Australia a first down at their own 21-yard line. With 8 seconds left, Davis hit Abbie Leyshon for a first down that stopped the clock with one second left. Davis’s pass fell incomplete, and the score at half was China 22, Australia 15.

Final moments of the game
China started the second half with the ball, but Australia’s Vanessa Lu intercepted Niu to give her team the ball on the Chinese 22-yard line. Two plays later, Olivia Manfre hauled in the Davis pass for her first score of the game. Ella Calleja caught the 1-point conversion to tie the game for the third time.

A Chinese deep pass and an illegal contact penalty moved the ball to the Australian 5-yard line, and on third down, Niu found a receiver open for the score, and added the one-point conversion to go ahead 29-22.

The Chinese defense stepped up to keep the Australians out of the end zone on their next drive, and then Niu and Lin hooked up again, this time from 5 yards out. As their habit had been in this game, the battery mates converted the one-point try to make the score China 36, Australia 22 with just over 2 minutes left in the game.

Davis found Gordon Belo open again for a 33-yard strike on fourth down, and then Davis hit Prosser-Shaw for the 1-point conversion with 1:29 left in the game to draw within 7 points, 36-29. The Australian defense held, and had 39 seconds left to possibly send the game into overtime. The Chinese defense held firm, and on the last play of the game, sacked Davis to win the Asia-Oceania Championship.

IFAF named Chinese quarterback XinYu Niu as the tournament MVP.

In the other placement games in the Asia group, Malaysia defeated the Philippines 19-13 for third place. Indonesia finished in fifth place by beating Thailand 41-20. Jordan earned seventh place over South Korea 26-19, and Hong Kong prevailed over India for ninth place 27-18.

In the Asia-Oceania competition, Japan handled American Samoa 42-12, and New Zealand overcame Malaysia 32-13. With their third-place finish, Japan will join China and Australia as qualifiers for the IFAF World Championships in Düsseldorf next August.

Asia-Oceania Gold Medal Game
China 36 Australia 29

Asia Oceania Bronze Medal Game
Japan 42 American Samoa 12

Asia-Oceania Fifth Place Medal Game
New Zealand 32 Malaysia 13

Asia Tournament Final
China 25 Japan 22

3^rd Place
Malaysia 19 Philippines 13

5^th Place
Indonesia 41 Thailand 20

7^th Place
Jordan 26 Korea 19

9^th Place
Hong Kong, China 27 India 18

Asia Competition Final Standings
1^st China
2^nd Japan
3^rd Malaysia
4^th Philippines
5^th Indonesia
6^th Thailand
7^th Jordan
8^th Korea
9^th Hong Kong, China
10^th India

Oceania Competition Final Standings
1^st Australia
2^nd American Samoa
3^rd New Zealand