BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball

Carp fans savor end of 25-year championship itch

Longtime Hiroshima Carp fans Shusaku Nishi (left), Hideki Fukushima (center) and an unnamed friend pose for a photo before Saturday's game against the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome. The Carp won 6-4 to capture their first Central League pennant in 25 years. | KAZ NAGATSUKA

By Kaz Nagatsuka
Staff Writer

Sep 11, 2016

The Hiroshima Carp have strived for the moment for 25 years, and their fans are full of emotion about the team's long-awaited league championship.

On Saturday night, the Hiroshima Carp finally sealed the deal, winning their first Central League pennant since 1991 with a 6-4 win over the Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome.

Hideki Fukushima, a Carp fan and Hiroshima native who now owns an okonomiyaki restaurant called "Kinsaiya" in Nagoya, paused for a few seconds, looking for the right words to describe his thoughts on the championship.

Carp fans savor end of 25-year championship itch

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