Chinese Softballers Face Bumpy Road Ahead

The 2000 Olympics may turn out to be a tougher test for Atlanta Olympics' softball silver medalists China.

Distressed by a drop in their competitiveness, the Chinese Women's Softball Team are busy preparing for the impending Olympics, and have set a target of entering the top three.

"The camp are not in their best form due to injuries and irregular training, therefore their opportunity to catch the gold is quite slim,'' Liu Yaming, head coach of the Chinese women's softball team, said on August 25.

Unlike the situation in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the current 15-member softball team are composed of eight veterans who have played abroad, and seven fresh faces.

They are either too old for the intense training and real contest, or too young to perform well in major international events.

"But at the last stage of the pre-Olympic training, most of the team members are doing their utmost to get prepared since it is their last chance to participate in the Olympics for many veterans,'' Liu said.

"They know quite well that giving their best performance in the Olympics is not only for the credit of China, but also for themselves,''

Echoing Liu's opinion, Hu Jiashi, general secretary of the Chinese Softball Association (CSA), said that different from other sports event such as football, skill and technique carry more weight than physical energy in softball.

"Though our pitchers are inferior to arch-rivals in terms of physical strength, we can still combat them with experience, expertise and strong mental power.

"And in such close competition as the finals of the Olympics, it is hard to say who would win and who would lose,'' Hu said.

Win or lose, the current team are better in talent build-up than that in the 1996 Olympics.

"To avoid being embarrassed again, we now pay more attention on cultivating reserves, trying to produce enough rightly-aged pitchers for the next Olympics and future international competition,'' Hu added.

After winning the silver medal in Atlanta, China sent quite a few veterans abroad to play in professional clubs in Japan and the United States.

"We made such a decision mainly in order to help them to extend their sports careers, otherwise they may have soon given up playing softball.

"Facts proved that the decision was right. Eight veterans came back from abroad, and they still serve as the back bone of our team.''

Though a good way to keep veterans in form, it is not a way to resolve the problem of the lack of talent once and for all, Hu indicated.

"We must rely on our own strength to build up the reserve system.

"And we will raise more funds to strengthen the construction of regional teams of provincial level,'' Hu added.

As to when to establish professional clubs, Hu showed some prudence, saying that the circumstances to make softball professional are still pre-mature.

"Although the national squad has collected many trophies in Asian and international competitions, softball in China is still quite unfamiliar to most fans.

"The expensive equipment and complex playing rules also shut the door to many enthusiasts.'' Hu added. (Chinadaily)



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