April 13, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 14, 1427

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LAHORE, April 12: Nabeel Ahmed will lead a 25-member Pakistan baseball squad to compete in the 7th Asia Cup baseball to be held at the Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, from April 20 to 26.

Announcing the team on Wednesday, Pakistan Federation of Baseball president, Shaukat Javed, stated that the host had bright chances to win the final for the first time.

The president said a training camp under the coaching of South Korean coach Kihong Kim was in progress in Lahore since March 26. The team would be shifted to Rawalpindi on April 15.

Besides Pakistan, other participating teams are Thailand, Iran, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.

India and Mongolia have decided to withdraw their entries.

The president said Pakistan would play the opening match against Hong Kong.

In all, 10 matches would be played in the seven-day contest.

The opening match and the final would be played under floodlights, he said. Besides, one match each from April 22 to 25 would also be played under floodlights and one in the day time.

He said the estimated cost to hold the competition was Rs5 million which had been generated.

The president said the event would help the federation a lot to promote the game in the country.

Meanwhile, skipper Nabeel said that the boys were physically fit and would give their maximum performance.

Nabeel pointed out that under the training of the South Korean coach had improved the skill of the players and he hoped Pakistan would clinch the top position.

The captain said he considered Thailand and Hong Kong as two strong rivals.

Meanwhile, secretary PBF Khawar Shah said that Sri Lanka would be the first team to arrive in Pakistan on April 15.

Wasal Mohammad Khan is the team manager while coaches Haider Khan Lehri, Ishtiaqul Hasan and Ihtesham are assisting the South Korean coach. Shah Mohammad is trainer.

Team:

Nabeel Ahmed (captain), Asjad, Saleem Haider, Zahid, Hafiz Usman, Umar, Kamran Senior, Farooq Ahmed, Kamran Junior, Imtiaz Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Arif, Shehraiz, Nasir Butt, Lateef Moughal, Hafiz Mussadaq, Basit Murtaza, Mohammad Asif, Samair Zawar, Ihsan Beg, Omair Imdad, Mohammad Faisal, Waqar Ismail, Qambar Ali and Khurram Raza.