2015-12-02 00:00:00
The president of the Baseball Federation of Asia is so confident of baseball's return to the Olympic Games that he said publicly in Taipei Tuesday: it is certain that baseball/softball will be included as one of the sports in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
"The return has been decided. Now the only thing missing is a formal announcement," Tom Peng (彭誠浩) said in response to questions by reporters on whether baseball can become an Olympic sport again after it was excluded in the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Peng also said that the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 baseball tournament will serve as the qualification event for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Taiwan will do its utmost to strive for the right to host the Premier 12 that year, he added.
After gaining the right to host the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo has been sparing no effort to have baseball listed again as a formal event in the international sports competition.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is scheduled to announce in Rio next year whether baseball will make it to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, said Wu Ching-kuo (吳經國), a member of the IOC Executive Board.
Asked about the issue, Chinese Taipei Baseball Association Secretary General Lin Chung-cheng (林宗成) said there is an optimistic atmosphere surrounding the international baseball community, but the matter still hinges on the IOC's decision.
© Baseball Federation of Asia. All RIGHTS RESERVED. / PRIVACY POLICY
