Japan announced its 24-man baseball roster for the Beijing Olympics during a press conference at a Tokyo hotel on Thursday afternoon.
Nippon Ham ace Yu Darvish and Tokyo Yakult's Norichika Aoki were among the players named to the team, many of whom also played in the Olympic qualifying tournament this past December in Taiwan, and will try to capture the nation's first Olympic gold medal since baseball became an official medal sport in 1992.
"After last December's Olympic qualifier, I told the players, 'Let's see you in Beijing,' manager Senichi Hoshino said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.