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Palestine’s baseball team qualifies for the final of the West Asia Cup

January 31, 2023 at 2:10 pm

GAZA CITY- Palestinian girls training to be the world’s next best Baseball team

The Palestinian baseball team qualified for the final of the 15th West Asia Cup after defeating Bangladesh in the semi-finals, reported Wafa news agency.

Organised by the Pakistan Baseball Federation (PBF), this is the first time the Palestinian baseball team has made an appearance abroad since its establishment in 2017.

Invited to the tournament by the Baseball Federation of Asia, the matches were held at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad from 27 January with the final due to be held tomorrow. Palestine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and Afghanistan all took part in the games.

According to Arab News, to participate in the West Asia Cup, Palestinian players from the Gaza Strip and the United States came together to form a team. After defeating Bangladesh with a score of 14-3, the team will play Pakistan who beat Sri Lanka 16-1 to book their place in the final.

Led by the coaching staff of Abdel Rahman Al-Ghoula, Ayman Abdullah and Kayed Yassin, the team, which was formed two and a half years ago, has been facing difficulties in practising together.

Tariq Suboh, the Palestinian catcher, told Arab News: “The players have not been able to properly practise because of the community’s financial constraints and distances [from one state to another] but together we are ready to showcase our passion.”

“We hope this [tournament] is the start of a bright future of baseball in Palestine,” he added.

The PBF has partnered with Baseball United, the first-ever professional baseball league that helps develop the game across the Middle East and South Asia, to host the West Asia Cup, an official World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) tournament.

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