Thailand and Malaysia, who finished in the top three in the qualifiers held in Kuala Lumpur from May 26 to May 31, have joined China in the women’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games.
Thailand and Malaysia competed in the finals of the qualifiers, while China finished third. The Asian Games will be held in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya in September and October.
Thailand dominated Group A, recording wins over Malaysia and Hong Kong to top the points table. Malaysia bounced back from their group stage setback by defeating Hong Kong to advance to the semi-finals, joining Group B leaders Nepal and runners-up China.
In the semi-final, Thailand produced an impressive performance against China, losing by just 53 runs to win by 83 runs. Meanwhile, Malaysia successfully chased down Nepal’s total of 126 for 6, winning by two wickets with 8 balls to spare.
With the two finalists already assured of qualification for the Asian Games, attention turned to the play-off for third place, where China defeated Nepal by DLS in a rain-affected match, winning by five wickets.
Later, Thailand consolidated their dominance by bowling Malaysia out for 54 runs and won by a comprehensive 9 wicket margin.
Thailand, one of the leading associate teams in women’s cricket, has featured in global events including the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020 after qualifying in 2019.
They are currently ranked 12th in the ICC Women’s T20 Rankings ahead of Malaysia (28th) and China (42nd).
The women’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games will feature eight teams in the T20 format. Four full members from Asia – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – have automatically qualified along with hosts Japan.
Men’s qualifiers are ongoing. Japan and five full members – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – will advance from the qualifiers featuring Nepal, China, Malaysia, Qatar, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Oman and Singapore.