27-Jul-2008 117
Believe it or not. India hopes to win a medal in the 3rd IBAF Women``s World Cup to be held at Matsuyama, Japan, from August 24 to 29, not withstanding the fact that the sport in the country is still in its infancy.
An 18-member National team has been preparing seriously for the World Cup for nearly a month. ````The girls are working hard. They have started beating state-level men``s teams. The team seems capable of winning a medal in the World Cup,```` Amateur Baseball Federation of India (ABFI) secretary general P C Bhardwaj said on the sidelines of the second preparatory camp being conducted at the Ravenshaw University ground in Cuttack since July 21.
Altogether eight teams will take part in the World Cup. Other seven countries include USA, Japan, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Canada, Hong Kong and Korea. India finished sixth in the 2004 Women``s World Cup in Japan.
"Our women have bagged medals in the last two Asian Cup championships. They claimed a bronze in 1995 and bettered the achievement with a silver in 1999. I am confient, they can finish among the top three in the coming World Cup," said Harish Bharadwaj, the chief coach of the team.
The preparation commenced with the first camp at Ludiana. After the end of the second camp at Cuttack on July 31, the last one will be held again at Jalandhar from August 10 till the departure of the team on August 22.
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