LAHORE, Sept 30: Balochistan would defend title in the 4th National women’s softball championship to be held at Lahore College University for Women from Sunday to Tuesday, said the president of Pakistan Baseball and Softball Federation (PBSF) Shaukat Javed.

He told a press conference on Friday that besides Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab, NWFP and Islamabad would also take part in the event.

The draws would be taken out on Saturday after the arrival of teams and Mrs Tehsin Cheema had been appointed chairperson of the organizing committee, he added.

He said the federation had a challenging task of holding the Asia Cup qualifying round in Pakistan next April.

Pindi Stadium had been selected as venue for the Cup in which Iran, The Philippines, Thailand, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Central Asian states would participate, he said.

The game’s Asian governing body was sending Yukichi Maeda of Japan on Oct 6 to inspect facilities available in the country for organizing the qualifying round, Mr Shaukat said.

Mr Maeda’s visit was formal as the event had already been allotted to Pakistan, but he could suggest any improvement in the arrangements, he said.

A South Korean coach would join the training camp from Nov 14 to train probables.

He would pick best players for training from the national championship being held in November.

He said that Pakistan had gained a respectable 5th ranking in baseball in the Asian region in a very short period.