Japan Beats US 2–0, Turns Incredible DP to Win Softball Gold

Japan’s Yu Yamamoto (5) celebrate with teammates after scoring on a single in the fifth inning of a softball game against the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Yokohama, Japan, on July 27, 2021. Matt Slocum/AP Photo

YOKOHAMA,—Japan won its second straight Olympic softball gold medal, beating the United States 2–0 Tuesday in an emotional repeat of its 2008 victory in Beijing that again left the Americans in tears.

Yukiko Ueno took a one-hitter into the sixth inning, five days after her 39th birthday, and Japan snuffed out an American rally attempt with an acrobatic double play in the sixth inning that will long be replayed.