West Asian Baseball Cup: PFB lands hosting rights

International baseball will be coming to Pakistan next year

KARACHI: Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB) has been awarded the right to host the 13th edition of the West Asian Men’s Baseball Cup, which it will stage next year, PFB Executive Director Syed Fakhar Ali Shah announced yesterday in an interview with The Express Tribune.

Shah revealed that in a meeting held in Taiwan earlier in the day, he was able to convince Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) president Tom Peng and the rest of the members that Pakistan should be awarded the hosting rights to their next west Asian event.

The tournament, in Shah’s opinion, could be a catalyst for the ailing sports industry of Pakistan. “It is an opportunity for us to host international teams in Pakistan and revive sports activities,” said Shah.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Women Baseball team lost 15-0 to Cuba in their third and final group match of the ongoing Baseball World Cup and crashed out in the opening stage of what was their debut tournament of such stature.

Pakistani ballplayers were held scoreless in each of their five innings of their final match, while Cuba, one of the top baseball playing nations, punished their rookie opponents and triumphed with an easy win.

The losing debutants will next play a consolation round where the bottom two teams from each group will compete against each other.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2016.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.