Nagoya: China's women's cricket team returned to the Asian Games stage for the first time in 12 years on Thursday, only to face a heart-wrenching elimination without playing a single delivery—two days ahead of the official opening ceremony.

Despite clear blue skies and sunshine at the Korogi Athletic Park in Nagoya, a waterlogged outfield resulting from persistent rainfall forced the abandonment of China's morning quarter-final fixture against Bangladesh.

Under Asian Games tournament regulations, Bangladesh advanced to the semi-finals on the basis of their higher international ranking.

Bangladesh will face Pakistan in the last four. Pakistan secured their semi-final spot after overcoming Thailand in a match shortened to 11 overs per side following a 90-minute delay while groundstaff worked to dry the playing surface.

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In that encounter, Thailand compiled a competitive total of 91-4 in their allotted 11 overs, powered by wicketkeeper Nannapat Koncharoenkai's top score of 49. Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals during their reply but ultimately avoided an upset, reaching 92-7 with just two balls remaining.

Severe weather, including record rainfall a week prior, had caused severe flooding across Nagoya and prompted the evacuation of several Asian Games athletes from their accommodation. Portions of the outfield at Korogi Park were still heavily saturated and failed to recover in time to host both scheduled matches on Thursday.

"We knew it was going to be tough to get a game given the weather in the last week here and all the challenges there have been," said China's Australian coach Alan Newington.

"We're grateful to the ground staff for trying their best, but we thought it was going to be tough to get a game.

"But we're very disappointed. We were hoping the world could see the China women play for the first time in a big tournament. But we'll reset and we'll try again."

The Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games officially open on Saturday.

While fair weather is anticipated for Friday's remaining quarter-finals—featuring Sri Lanka against Malaysia and hosts Japan taking on India—the outlook for Sunday and Tuesday's semi-finals and medal matches remains bleak as a approaching typhoon threatens the area.

The men's competition kicks off next Thursday with preliminary matches before top-tier sides India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh enter in the quarter-finals. The Indian squad boasts several members of their T20 World Cup-winning setup alongside 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. (AFP)