The first semi-final of the "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 International Baseball Tournament was held on the morning August 22. Despite smashing the French team 9-4, Hoshino Senichi, head coach of the Japanese team, still said, "The performance of the professional players was too disappointing!"

Hoshino Senichi, outfielder, Takahiro Okada, No. 55 of the Japanese team, and pitcher Shota Oba, No. 17 together participated in the post-match press conference.

Comments on the match

Hoshino Senichi: During the heats, we defeat the French narrowly 4:3, mainly because we were not quite used to the team. Now as we have been accustomed to their style, we played quite smoothly in the first 7 innings. But in the eighth inning, 4 consecutive scores were won by our rivals. So even though we won the match, I still don't feel well.

Takahiro Okada: We played quite well in the beginning and won 2 scores at the first set. In the middle, we drew our scores far apart. We could have completed the match in advance by winning one score, but we failed to seize the opportunity and played 9 sets as a result.

Shota Oba: I was very excited at playing in such an important first semifinal. In spite of some mistakes in the middle, I'm still satisfied with my performance on the whole.

Answer the questions of the reporter

Reporter: Baseball is very popular in Japan. However, it's very likely that baseball will retreat from the Olympic stage after 2008. Could the coach tell us what you think about it?

Hoshino Senichi: This question is beyond my control. But I believe that so long as several big baseball countries make concerted effort, baseball will surely return to the Olympic family some day. I also hope that the Chinese media can report more on baseball and create a stronger baseball atmosphere in China.

Reporter: Which team do you wish to meet the most in tomorrow's final, the Chinese team or the Czech team? Besides, Japan dispatched a young team whose average age is not yet 21 to this tournament. Will it be of any help to the 2008 Olympics?

Hoshino Senichi: Whom we will play with tomorrow is not a problem. Judging from the present strength, I feel that the Chinese team is more likely to enter the finals. As to why we dispatched young players, that's because the baseball league is under way in Japan at present. Besides, to give a young team the opportunity to compete in a world match will be of help for their future development. You can also see that our young players are constantly making progress.

Reporter: You just said that you didn't feel well about letting the French team gaining 4 consecutive scores in the eighth set. Did losing 4 scores on a row result from too excellent play of the French team or the Japanese team's relaxation?

Hoshino Senichi: Our college student pitcher played very well before that. It was our professional players who gave rise to the problem in the following session. I'm very dissatisfied with their performance!

Reporter: Are your satisfied with the organization work, volunteer services and catering conditions of this tournament?

Hoshino Senichi: This field is very good. Though not quite familiar with their work, volunteers are working very hard. I haven't any discontentment with the field, volunteers or catering.

Reporter: The Japanese team has won four consecutive victories. What's your expectation for tomorrow's finals?

Hoshino Senichi: We'll stick to our style whomever we face tomorrow and attempt different tactics. This tournament will be a beautiful memory for each player. I hope that tomorrow's match will draw a satisfactory full stop for this nice memory.