夏の甲子園、２年ぶり開幕　開会式、マスク姿で行進―高校野球

　第１０３回全国高校野球選手権大会は１０日、兵庫県西宮市の阪神甲子園球場で開会式が行われた。新型コロナウイルスの影響で昨年の第１０２回大会は中止となり、２年ぶりの開催。台風９号の影響で開幕が９日から順延された。大会は休養日３日を含み１７日間の日程で行われ、決勝は２６日の予定。
　開会式ではコロナ対策のため、４９代表校の選手たちはマスクを着用。入場行進は右翼から場内を行進する通常の形ではなく、外野に整列後、本塁方向へ前進する形に簡素化された。俳優で歌手の山崎育三郎さんが大会歌「栄冠は君に輝く」を独唱し、選手宣誓は小松大谷（石川）の木下仁緒主将が務めた。
　医療従事者への感謝を示すため、開幕試合の始球式は、元高校球児で今春から大学医学部で学ぶ、ともに１９歳の吉田裕翔さんと嘉村太志さんが行った。開幕戦は日大山形（山形）が米子東（鳥取）を４―１で破った。
　今大会は、一般客は入れず、入場者は各校それぞれの関係者２０００人程度とする。（2021/08/10-12:48）

Japan's 103rd national summer high school baseball championship kicked off Tuesday after last year's event was canceled due to the novel coronavirus epidemic.
   The tournament at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, will be participated in by 49 teams from the country's 47 prefectures--two each from Tokyo and Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, and one each from the remaining 45 prefectures--and will last for 17 days, including three rest days. The final game is scheduled for Aug. 26.
   The start of the championship was originally slated for Monday, but was delayed due to a typhoon. Participating players wore face masks during the opening ceremony, and their march was simplified, in order reduce the risk of novel coronavirus infection.
   To express gratitude to front-line medical workers fighting COVID-19, a ceremonial first pitch at the opening game was thrown by Yusho Yoshida and Taishi Kamura, who both began studying medicine at university in spring this year. The 19-year-olds both played baseball at high school.
   While this year's tournament will be held with no general spectators, up to about 2,000 people related to each of the 49 teams will be allowed in the stadium, a mecca for high school baseball players in Japan.