Sawt Falasteen - Thousands of Taiwan fans turn Tokyo blue at World Baseball Classic

Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out the home supporters when their team played Japan on Friday.

They blow trumpets, chant for their favourite players and have their own troupe of cheerleaders who dance on a stage while the games are going on.

The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field in losses to Australia and Japan but they thrashed the Czech Republic 14-0 for their first win on Saturday.

Mark Ling, a 46-year-old dentist who had tickets for two of Taiwan's games, told AFP that baseball enjoyed "insane" popularity on the island.

"It was very difficult to buy any tickets for this series," he said, moments after a home run against the Czechs cranked the decibel levels in the stadium into overdrive.

"It's what I expected, that everyone would come to Tokyo and cheer for the Taiwan team. I'm not surprised."

Over 40,000 fans watched Taiwan's opening game against Australia, with the overwhelming majority supporting the team officially known at the tournament as Chinese Taipei.

All games in Pool C are being played at the Tokyo Dome and Taiwan have happy memories of the stadium.

They won their first international title there when they triumphed at the Premier12 in November 2024, beating Japan in the final.

The top teams at that tournament were not at full strength but Taiwan's win still sparked wild celebrations at home.

F-16 fighter jets firing flares escorted the team back to Taiwan before a lavish parade was held through the streets of the capital Taipei.

"Every newspaper reported the event for maybe a week," said 41-year-old fan Sun Chun-chieh.

"Every athlete came back like a hero."

- Party win or lose -

Baseball was introduced to Taiwan under Japanese rule in the late 19th century and is now considered to be the national sport.

The island has produced some notable players including the legendary Sadaharu Oh, an ethnic Taiwanese who was born in Tokyo and holds the world record for career home runs.

The World Baseball Classic team includes US-born Stuart Fairchild of the Cleveland Guardians, whose mother was born in Taiwan.

"The fans have been incredible, they've travelled in droves," said the 29-year-old.

"Even though the first couple of games didn't go the way we wanted to, they still came today and have shown us nothing but support."

Taiwan went into the tournament ranked number two in the world, although few believe that is an accurate reflection of baseball's pecking order.

They lost 3-0 to Australia in their opener before being thrashed 13-0 by Japan in a game that was cut short under the so-called mercy rule because Japan were so far in front.

Taiwan kept their hopes of a quarter-final place alive with their comprehensive win over the Czechs, which also ended early under the mercy rule.

The dentist Ling said the World Baseball Classic was "the highest level in baseball" and promised to enjoy the party regardless of the result.

"We love to see the competition between the teams," he said.

"Winning or losing is maybe not the most important thing we care about."

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST