With one day to go to The World Games Women’s Softball competition, the coaches of the eight participating teams stressed the importance of taking the tournament step by step in what promises to be a great contest of the top ranked teams in the world.

After the technical meeting, where rosters became official, the head coaches shared their expectations and goals.

Here’s what each coach had to say (listed by country):

CHINA

“Our objective is to strive to perform well in the Opening Round. We will try to finish in the top two of the Opening Round, and ultimately make it to the top four. This is a goal for our team,” said Tang Changdong, head coach of the host team, world No. 10 China.

“Since taking charge of this team, I’ve always seen them as one that’s exceptionally tough and fiercely competitive. Their greatest strength, I’d say, lies in their remarkable resilience, there’s this unyielding fire in them that never dies out. It’s a fresh embodiment of women’s softball spirit in the new era.”

🌏🥎 Chengdu welcomes the best of Women’s Softball ahead of The World Games tournament starting Wednesday.

🔝 Eight of the world’s top 10 teams, representing four continents, have arrived in Chengdu aiming to claim the gold medal on Sunday.#TWG2025
https://t.co/lTOwnt6mHn

— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) August 11, 2025

JAPAN

World champions and world No. 1 Japan arrive as one of the top contenders for the title, aiming both for the gold medal and peak performance.

Head coach Reika Utsugi, who led Japan to Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020 and last year’s world title in Italy, explained:

“We are going for the gold medal; and we want all our players to perform at their best. We believe that our main strength is a real cohesion between experienced players and the younger group.”

UNITED STATES

For defending champions and world No. 2 USA head coach Patty Gasso, appointed just six months ago and making her international debut, the focus is on learning.

“I hope that during our short training time, the team can learn to work and play together effectively. While our main goal is to win the gold medal, another goal is to focus on working and playing together and executing all the things necessary to win each game,” she mentioned.

“My priority during these six months has been getting the right coaching staff. Then, my priority for this tournament was to get some of the elders because I wanted them to help me along. That was a priority, and they’ve really helped me a lot,” she added. 

“What surprised me the most was the open arms of the athletes, they’ve really taken this short period with our coaches to learn a lot and have truly appreciated it. They’re very easygoing, yet very hardworking, and it’s been a real joy.”

CANADA

No. 4 Canada, consistently competitive in recent years, are aiming high but know the challenge ahead. Head Coach Kaleigh Rafter said:

“We’re in a good spot. We’re just trying to play our best softball and kind of see what happens as the week progresses,” she said. 

When asked what it would take for Canada to reach the gold medal game after earning bronze in the last three World Cups and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Rafter stressed attention to detail.

“I think we need to execute in kind of those bigger games, and every game here is going to be a big game because we know everyone’s pretty good. You know we’re right there, but we also want to just put ourselves in a position to be playing in that game as well, because we know early on you can get sniped at some of these tournaments. So we’re trying to come out of the gates with a good foot forward tomorrow,” she said.

NETHERLANDS

Last year, Canada defeated the Netherlands (No. 6 in the world) in the bronze medal game of the World Cup, in an 11-inning thriller, leaving the European team in fourth place. Dutch head coach Saskia Kosterink echoed the importance of fine margins.

“It comes down to the details and make sure we don’t give away big innings. And if we do that right, do the little things right we should come on the other end,” she said.

Kosterink, a Beijing 2008 Olympian, said they are going to do their best and try to get on the podium this time.

“It starts with the first game against China. It’s an important game for us to get the win. And we’re going to take it day by day, but eventually working towards podium stage,” she finished. 

PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico, currently ranked No. 3 in the world – its highest-ever position – iscoming off silver medals at the WBSC U-15 Women’s Softball World Cup and the Pan American Championship, but still seek a senior team podium finish in a global event. Head coach David Santos outlined the plan:

“Our main objective is to go to the second round. But to go to the second round, first we have to pass the teams of our group, which is the strongest in the competition. So, to achieve the goal, first we have to win the first game, which is Canada, then Australia, and then Japan. And then we have to go to the medal round. That is our objective,” he explained.

To do so, he believes the youth of the team is a strength.

“In this event we have a lot of young players who have their first opportunity as everyday players within the team. But they are players who are daring. They don’t have much to lose. So, I think that can be something that helps us,” Santos said. “We have talked exactly about that. How to win that big game to get to the next level. And I think we are almost ready for that.” 

AUSTRALIA

No. 8 Australia received a wild card for The World Games 2025 after finishing last year outside the top six in the rankings – a rare position for a traditional powerhouse.

Head coach Kerrie Porter said:

“We’ve been disappointed with some of our results on the world stage in the last couple of years but we’ve reset the programme. We’ve got a lot of younger players coming through now and we’re trying to expose them to the international competition to prepare them for what’s required and hopefully give them a taste of the levels that are required to play and compete and win at this level. We’re here to compete, we’re here to battle and we’re here to fight as hard as we can until the last pitch.” 

For Porter this competition is very important in the building of the next Australian winning team.

“Having the opportunity to play international games is quite rare because we don’t get a lot of international countries coming to Australia. So to be given the chance to compete against these international teams is exciting and part of our preparation obviously for the World Cup Group Stage next year, the World Cup in 2027 and then finally LA Olympics in 2028. So it’s part of our programme to build through to LA28,” she closed.

CHINESE TAIPEI

No. 5 Chinese Taipei won the bronze medal in Birmingham 2022, the previous edition of The World Games. This is the goal of the team, to repeat the podium performance. Head Coach Han Hsin-Lin explained:

“We hope the Chinese Taipei team can achieve results similar to the previous edition. Our expectation is that the players will perform consistently throughout the competition. Our team is young, fast and powerful.”

“We are continuing to refine our players’ skills by participating in tournaments around the world and becoming more familiar with the tactics and strategies used by European and American teams.”