SYDNEY -- Japanese Olympic Committee president Yushiro Yagi declared Saturday that the nation's Olympic delegation had performed to 80 percent of its capacity to win five gold medals and 18 medals with two days of competition left at the Sydney Games.

"I thought we would win eight gold but destiny was not that kind to us," Yagi told reporters at the delegation's last official press conference of the Games.

Japan's athletes have attained the JOC's official target of five gold medals and at least 15 medals in total.

"To be honest, we missed one gold in judo and in softball, and I thought that was within our capacity, but we just missed out," Yagi said. "In swimming too, I thought we would have won gold, looking at overall data."

JOC public relations chief Tsunekazu Takeda said 56 Japanese athletes had made top eight finishes at the Sydney Olympics, a better performance than at Atlanta.

Japan performed abysmally in Atlanta - winning just three gold medals and 14 medals in total, its worst tally since the Helsinki Games in 1952.

But Yagi refused to give Japan's athletes the thumbs up for their efforts.

"I think we have achieved a passing mark - 80 percent. There are some medals that we were so very close to and for that we are very disappointed. But that shows how good we are, so we hope to do better next time."

But he apologized for the nation's failure in baseball and maintaining its record of bringing back a top three finish in every Games since the sport was introduced as an exhibition sport at Los Angeles in 1984.

"As far as I'm concerned for children, baseball is No. 1, hence I'm sorry we did not get a medal in this No. 1 sport in Japan," Yagi said.

He said that JOC honorary president and owner of the Seibu Lions, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, had sent him an "apology" for the fact that professional baseball leagues could not get together to send a better team.

And he went as close as any Olympic official has gone to blasting the Pacific and Central League teams for refusing to release top players for the Olympics.

"There was only limited availability of baseball players. There is lots of room for improvement. We need the cooperation of the pro leagues to provide players for the Olympics," he said.

"Baseball is something you represent your whole country for. Perhaps that is an area Japan needs to put in more effort. For the next Games I hope there is a greater sense of this -- athletes representing Japan."