Race for Global Cup second place red hot as Japan pips France

Submitted by nicolamira on 4 November, 2021 - 16:41
Japan won the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships – Pict.: Getty Images

October has been a bumper sporting month, with a slew of top tournaments that triggered a number of position changes in the top-10 table of the Global Cup

the ranking of the world’s best sporting nations.

While the USA remains unassailable at the top of the table, having consolidated its position by winning the October monthly ranking (please see the table below), Japan, Italy and China have all gained places, overtaking their immediate competitors.
 
Japan has now climbed to second place in the year-to-date Global Cup ranking, and is engaged in a thrilling head-to-head battle with France for the Global Cup’s runner-up spot. It is an unprecedented achievement for the Asian nation, whose best-ever result was fourth place in 2018. There are only 166 points between the two countries, while France has a comfortable 722-point cushion over fourth-placed Italy.
 
The latter made the biggest jump in the year-to-date top 10 after October, from seventh to fourth, helped also by third place in the UEFA Nations League (Football). China also improved, leapfrogging Germany into fifth place.
 
Just over 6,000 GSN points were awarded in October (among 66 countries), and the month’s most important tournaments are summarised below:
- Free Wrestling World Championships (which awarded in total 1,389 GSN points): the USA took the title ahead of Japan and Iran
- Greco-Roman Wrestling World Championships (661 points): Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia on the podium
- Track Cycling World Championships (791 points): won by Germany ahead of Italy and the Netherlands
- Artistic Gymnastics World Championships (1,256 points): Japan clinched it by a whisker, only three points ahead of China, followed by the USA and Italy
- Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships: won by Belarus ahead of Italy and the Ukraine
- Marathon: a big month for the sport, with the Boston, London and Chicago races: Kenya narrowly beat Ethiopia in the month, with the USA a distant third – each country came top in one of the three events, Kenya winning in Boston, Ethiopia in London and the USA in Chicago.
 
GLOBAL CUP – OCTOBER MONTHLY RANKING
Place
Country
Points
Points %
1
United States
594
9.9%
2
Japan
536
8.9%
3
Italy
395
6.6%
4
Kenya
291
4.8%
5
China
287
4.8%
6
France
281
4.7%
7
Ethiopia
246
4.1%
8
Iran
242
4.0%
9
Germany
226
3.8%
10
Spain
177
2.9%
11
Netherlands
169
2.8%
12
Portugal
144
2.4%
13
Belgium
144
2.4%
14
Ukraine
140
2.3%
15
Belarus
123
2.0%
16
Georgia
113
1.9%
17
Azerbaijan
113
1.9%
18
Turkey
113
1.9%
19
Great Britain
108
1.8%
20
Brazil
106
1.8%
21
Kyrgyzstan
98
1.6%
22
Kazakhstan
96
1.6%
23
Mongolia
93
1.5%
24
Poland
90
1.5%
25
Denmark
83
1.4%
26
Canada
71
1.2%
27
India
69
1.1%
28
Hungary
68
1.1%
29
Philippines
66
1.1%
30
Armenia
62
1.0%
31
Moldova
62
1.0%
32
Bulgaria
47
0.8%
33
South Korea
46
0.8%
34
Argentina
40
0.7%
35
Israel
39
0.6%
36
Sweden
31
0.5%
37
Serbia
30
0.5%
38
Egypt
28
0.5%
39
Indonesia
26
0.4%
40
New Zealand
26
0.4%
41
Slovakia
25
0.4%
42
Romania
24
0.4%
43
Estonia
18
0.3%
44
Thailand
18
0.3%
45
Finland
18
0.3%
46
Switzerland
18
0.3%
47
Australia
17
0.3%
48
Lithuania
16
0.3%
49
Trinidad and Tobago
16
0.3%
50
Austria
12
0.2%
51
Norway
12
0.2%
52
Czech Republic
10
0.2%
53
South Africa
10
0.2%
54
Nigeria
8
0.1%
55
Taiwan
8
0.1%
56
Puerto Rico
8
0.1%
57
Ecuador
7
0.1%
58
Chile
7
0.1%
59
Mexico
6
0.1%
60
North Macedonia
6
0.1%
61
Croatia
6
0.1%
62
Ireland
5
0.1%
63
Morocco
4
0.1%
64
Greece
4
0.1%
65
Colombia
3
0.0%
66
Malaysia
2
0.0%
Grand Total
6,004
100.0%
 
 
The fight for Global Cup second place is red-hot between Japan and France. One of the key tournaments in the last two months of 2021 will be the Karate World Championships, scheduled in Dubai in November. Japan are clear favourites and, while France has a good track record in the sport, recent results show a dip in form.
 
Japan narrowly edged France, with 489 points vs 408, at the 2016 Karate World Championships. In 2018, Japan won again, ahead of Iran and Italy, and France was sixth. At the Tokyo Olympics this year, Japan won the sport once more, ahead of Turkey and Italy, with France 11th. Were Japan to win year’s World Championships, then it will be almost assured a prestigious second place on the 2021 Global Cup.
 
Follow GSN also on Facebook and Twitter and keep up with the latest in the quest for the world’s best sporting nation!
 
Article image: Getty Images.
 
Greatest Sporting Nation is a ranking of countries based on their performance in top-level international tournaments in sports in which there is genuine global competition. Countries (national teams and/or individual athletes) score Qualifying Points by finishing in the top eight places in Qualifying Events.
These Qualifying Points are then weighted to produce GSN Points, based on a formula that takes into account individual vs team sports, the sport’s participation (number of countries) and the frequency (annual/biennial/quadrennial) of the tournaments.
The Country scoring the most Points in a calendar year wins the Global Cup for that year. The country that scores the most points relative to its population wins the Per Capita Cup. For a more detailed explanation, please refer to the ‘How It Works’ section on the site.
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