Day 1 of IFAF Women’s Asia-Oceania Flag Football Championship saw plenty of action
Japan, who, as of 2024, was number three in the IFAF World Rankings, took care of business in their first game against the Chinese in the IFAF Asia-Oceania Continental Championship. Team China had surprised the Japanese at the World Games in Chengdu, winning a 28-22 upset.
The Chinese hoped to repeat that victory at the Fenghua Sports Center in Ningbo, China, but the home field advantage was not effective this time. Japan opened the scoring when quarterback Chihiro Iwata hit wide receiver Yurika Omi for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The 1-point extra point try failed, so Japan led 6-0. China replied quickly, and after an illegal contact penalty on Japan, quarterback Niu Xinyu found wide receiver Feng Hoalin open on the Japanese 9-yard line. A running play lost 4 yards, and an incomplete pass made it third and goal, but Niu connected with Wang Xin to tie the score. Japan scored two more touchdowns before halftime, including another strike from Iwata to Omi, but the extra points failed, so they went into the break leading 18-6. China made it closer in the second half, scoring 12 points, but they also gave up 15 more, and Japan walked away with the 33-18 victory.
Team Japan followed that up by defeating Indonesia 56-35. China righted their ship by blanking Hong Kong 41-0, and then doubling the score on Indonesia 40-20.
In the day’s other games in Group A, Indonesia defeated Thailand 33-24, but the Thais made it into the win column by squeaking out a 14-6 victory over Hong Kong.
In Group B, the Philippines defeated Malaysia 19-12, South Korea 35-6, and Jordan 28-0. Malaysia came back from their defeat to overcome India 34-12. Jordan, in their first international competition, also followed their losses to South Korea, 25-12, and the Philippines by defeating India 26-12.
In Group C, the teams representing Oceania also included a newcomer to international competition. American Samoa had a rough welcome when they lost to Australia 12-38, but they bounced back to defeat New Zealand 21-12. The Aussies and the Kiwis fought it out in one of the closest matches of the first day. New Zealand pulled off a one-point victory, defeating Team Australia 13-12. All three teams therefore finished the day with 1-1 records.
Group play continues tomorrow, with a rematch between Australia and American Samoa on Field One at 08:00 local time. They will be joined in the day’s first games by China who will play Thailand on Field Two, and Japan will take on Hong Kong on Field Three. IFAF TV has all games streamed live.
Russ Crawford is Professor of History at Ohio Northern University. His books include Women’s American Football: Breaking Barriers On and Off the Field (2022), and Le Football: A History of American Football in France (2016).
