October 2, 2017
ISLAMABAD　October 1, by Dawn: Pakistan coach Musaddiq Hanif said the aim was to improve the rankings as the national team left for Taiwan on Saturday to take part in the Asian Baseball Championship to be held there from Oct 2 to 8.
Ranked fifth in the continent, Pakistan are one of eight teams taking part in the tournament which features regional heavyweights like world champions Japan, South Korea and the hosts Taiwan. “The most immediate target at the championships is to go up one place in the Asian rankings by beating China [who are currently fourth],” Musaddiq told Dawn on Saturday.
“The team is made up of new players and having participated in a month-long training camp under the supervision of US coach John Goulding, we’re hopeful of giving a good performance.”
Pakistan are drawn in Group ‘B’ alongside Japan, China and Hong Kong. Pakistan face China in the first game on Monday before matches against Japan on Tuesday and Hong Kong on Wednesday.
“It is a great honour for Pakistan to be competing in such a high-profile tournament,” Pakistan Baseball Federation (PBF) president Syed Khawar Shah said in a press release.
On Friday, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president retired Lt Gen Syed Arif Hasan attended the camp and appreciated the efforts of the PBF for “developing the game in the country”.
Squad: Umair Imdad Bhatti (Captain), Inayatullah Khan, Tariq Nadeem, Ihsanullah, Jawad Ali, Arsalan Jamshaid, Nabeel Manzoor, Ubaidullah, Fazal-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Usama, Abubakar Virk, Mohammad Rafi, Mohammad Waqas Ismail, Mohammad Waseem, Mohammad Zakir and Wali Mohammad.
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