Kuala Lumpur, May 31 (IANS) Thailand, Malaysia and China have secured qualification for the women’s cricket tournament at the 2026 Asian Games after emerging as the top three teams in the qualifying event staged in the city between May 26 and 31.

The trio will join the already-qualified teams at the continental showpiece, which is scheduled to be held across Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya in Japan during September and October next year.

Thailand enjoyed a flawless campaign in the preliminary stage, topping Group A with victories over both Malaysia and Hong Kong. Despite losing to Thailand earlier in the tournament, Malaysia bounced back strongly, overcoming Hong Kong to advance to the knockout rounds.

In the semi-finals, Thailand produced a dominant display against China, bundling them out for just 53 before cruising to an emphatic 83-run win. Malaysia also booked their place in the final after edging past Nepal by two wickets in a tense chase of 127, reaching the target with eight deliveries to spare.

China claimed the final qualification spot by defeating Nepal in a rain-shortened third-place playoff. The match was decided under the DLS method, with China securing a five-wicket victory.

The final saw Thailand underline their superiority once again. After restricting Malaysia to only 54 runs, Thailand comfortably chased down the target with nine wickets intact.

Women’s cricket at the 2026 Asian Games will feature eight teams. Alongside hosts Japan, automatic qualification has been awarded to the four Asian Full Members — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Thailand, Malaysia and China complete the field.

Thailand head into the Games as the highest-ranked of the three qualifiers, sitting 12th in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings. Malaysia occupy 28th position, while China are ranked 42nd.

The qualification process for the men’s competition is still underway. Apart from Japan, the five Full Members from the region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – qualified directly, while four teams will join them from the qualifiers, being contested by Nepal, China, Malaysia, Qatar, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Oman and Singapore.

–IANS

sds/