Still swinging away

Despite being dropped from the Olympics, baseball continues to battle on in China, Tang Zhe reports.

A win means a lot to the Chinese baseball team, not merely as a victory, but as it also signifies another step forward for the sport's growth in the country.

China recorded a 5-2 triumph over Brazil in one of its three group games at the World Baseball Classic this month. Though it failed to advance to the knockout stage, China, by placing third in the group, has qualified for the next WBC in 2017.

It is especially significant for China as baseball's elimination from the Olympic agenda has suffocated the sport in the country, and the WBC, which features professional players from leagues around the world, is one of the few international tournaments where the Chinese team can show its mettle.

"The Chinese (State-supported) team has no league to play in; only the quadrennial Asian Games and National Games. Without the Olympics, the Chinese sports authority may even consider whether it is necessary to preserve baseball," said Ren Sijiu, a baseball enthusiast who was the translator for Chinese national team manager John McLaren during the Classic.

"China's automatic qualification for the next WBC should provide those promoting the sport with more time to raise greater awareness that baseball is a great sport worthy of development," he said.

Post-Olympics hardship

Baseball was voted out of the London Olympics, along with softball, in 2005. Part of the reason was that the Games clashed with the major league seasons in North America and Asia, and the world's elite players from those professional leagues did not play. China made only one Olympic appearance, at its home Games in 2008, at which it recorded a solitary win over Chinese Taipei.

According to Shen Wei, secretary general of the Chinese Baseball Association, the country has cut 75 percent of the sport's annual budget since it was dropped from the Olympics.

The domestic league, founded in 2002, was halted in 2012 because the game's Olympic demise had shrunk its commercial value.

"The domestic league thrived from 2004-06. The 3,000-seat stadium in Beijing was packed. However, the Olympic decision in 2005 was a huge blow to the growing league, and it started to slide that year.

"Under such circumstances, media and TV broadcasting dropped, and led to the departure of sponsorships," Shen said. "Any company supporting a sport won't keep spending money if it gets no reward."

Save the sport

After the disappointment of losing that Olympic tag, the CBA switched its focus to nurturing the game in schools and communities.

The association has received strong support from Major League Baseball, especially in training youngsters, highlighted by Play Ball! - a youth baseball development program that aims to promote and develop baseball in primary and middle schools.

Besides instructing students, training coaches and providing equipment, MLB's Play Ball! program has held a youth baseball league since 2007, which featured 152 primary and middle school teams in the 2013 competition.

It also aims to gradually build a ladder of competitions, from primary schools to universities, so that young players can improve their skills as they progress to higher levels.

"Baseball is a sport that requires smart minds. It not only develops the body, but also helps the kids to improve their intelligence and character, such as team spirit and caring for others," Shen said. "Baseball might be more suited to Chinese than basketball, soccer and volleyball as the sport places more emphasis on the mind than physical advantages."

The association also continues to work with MLB in improving the national team.

According to Shen, MLB has sent a coaching team to instruct Team China and has also flown the side to the US for intense training and games.

"It's an effective cooperation. After years of effort, we achieved our first victory at the Beijing Olympics and got a second win in 2009 (World Baseball Classic, also against Chinese Taipei), and the recent victory brought us great hope," said Shen, who is optimistic about baseball's return to the Olympic family.

Baseball, combined with softball, is among seven sports that could be added to the 2020 Olympics.

"Most of the young Chinese players at the World Baseball Classic will be at their prime if baseball returns to the Olympics (in 2020). We have been preparing for the return over the past two years, because it will be too late to choose athletes after the vote and it takes years for a baseball player to grow," Shen said.

Contact the writer at tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn.