Japan on a softball roll

Japan are seeking Olympic glory

Women's fast-pitch softball is making its second appearance at the Olympics. BBC Sport's Jonathon Moore travelled to Sydney's Olympic Softball Centre to watch new favourites Japan in action.

Blacktown may be one of the more isolated Olympic venues - but it failed to keep the fans away for Australia's make-or-break clash against Japan.

Somewhat surprisingly for those who are new to it, softball remains one of the most popular world-wide sports - in terms of participation.

According to the International Softball Federation , there are over 50m registered players. Oh, and the ball isn't soft.

Pole position

There are four different types of the game, though only one is played at the Olympics: women's fast-pitch.

Japan coach Taeko Utsugi

It resembles baseball in virtually every sense - except that the pitcher can only throw the ball under-arm.

"Sounds a bit like rounders," you might be thinking. Well, you would be wrong.

Japanese pitcher Mariko Masubuchi was notching up speeds of close to 70mph on Tuesday and although that's around 20mph less than in Major League baseball, Softball pitchers throw 20 feet closer to the batter.

Japan's 1-0 victory places them in pole position for a medal. Their draw has not been kind - but they have now defeated all three of the major players - China, the USA and Australia.

"We have started very strongly," said coach Taeko Utsugi.

"But we cannot be complacent. There is a lot of the tournament left to play."

Disappointed

The top four teams from the round-robin tournament progress through to the knockout stages and though Japan have yet to lose, Utsigi said she had no intention of allowing her team to ease up.

"We have faced Australia before several times," she said. "I think they looked a little nervous. But we will press on, we are playing well"

Australian coach Bob Crudgington admitted his side were disappointed not to have scored a any home runs.

"It's a worry for us," he said, "but I'm not overly concerned about our offence.

"That was a typical game between us. They're a very good side and they could have come out of the match with a much higher score."

Japan, who recently lost out to Australia in the International Fast-pitch Softball Cup, are hungry for success.

In Atlanta they missed out on the medals altogether, but they are looking increasingly unlikely to lose out this time.

"If we had lost we would have put ourselves in a difficult position," Utsugi said. "As a team we are relaxed, but we want the gold."