Cao Jie at the Hangzhou Asian Games. [Photo/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

In the baseball group stage of the Hangzhou Asian Games, the Chinese men's baseball team recently defeated Japan, the world’s number one team, for the first time ever, with a final score of 1:0.

Cao Jie was born in Tanglugang village, Jinhai town in 1998. He joined the school volleyball team in the third grade. Because of his outstanding performance in the city's volleyball competition, he was admitted to Zhegui Middle School in junior high school.

Later, by chance, Cao Jie was spotted by a baseball coach and transferred to Wuxi Sports School to practice baseball. He joined the Jiangsu provincial team in 2014 and entered the Chinese national team in 2018.

In this year’s Asian Games, in the baseball group match against Japan, the Chinese team showed impressive teamwork. Teammate Liang Pei's hit created a scoring opportunity, while Cao Jie successfully completed the run and scored. The Chinese team maintained a 1-0 lead until the end and advanced to the super round at first place in Group A.

In the bronze medal match on Oct 7, Cao Jie helped the Chinese team get the first point. Although they lost to Japan 3-4 in the end, Cao Jie said he played well and hoped to continue to work hard and train for the next competition.