Spring Koshien cancellation crushes baseball players' dreams

First time since Second World War that high school tournament has been scrapped

20200313 Koshien invitational final 2019.jpg

Players of Toho high school and Narashino high school play in the final of the national high school baseball invitational championship at Koshien Stadium on April 3, 2019. © Kyodo

ROBERT WHITING, Contributing writer

March 13, 2020 16:07 JST

Few things in Japanese life are as sacred as the high school baseball tournaments at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, near Kobe. The tournaments are played twice a year -- a spring invitational of teams from around the country lasting 10 days and a summer tournament involving 49 regional title winners for the national championship.