Indian women's softball team to make its debut at 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou

The Indian women's softball team is set to make its debut at the 2022 Asian Games later this year in Hangzhou, China after being approved as a wild card for the colossal event. The Softball Association of India confirmed the news on Monday (April 18).

The Indian team's wildcard entry was approved by Softball Asia during its executive committee meeting on February 23. The Hangzhou Asian Games are scheduled to take place between September 10 and 25, 2022. The mega-event will feature 40 sports encompassing 61 disciplines.

The Indian team's participation in the 19th Asian Games had already been approved by the Indian Olympic Association of India (IOA). The president of the Softball Association of India Neetal Narang, speaking about the Indian women's softball team's participation in the Asian Games, said:

"The entry of women's team to the Asian Games, through a wild card, is indeed a milestone for softball in India. The Hangzhou Games will be an opportunity to encourage and groom our women players as all major international events include women's category."

Softball was part of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and will also feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. Speaking about the same, Neetal Narang added:

"Performing at the Asian Games is our first step and comes with a huge responsibility as we aspire to be a strong team ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Softball Association of India is confident that more such exposure will help our players reach greater heights and we look forward to having continued support from the sports ministry, Indian Olympic Association and Sports Authority of India."

Softball at the Asian Games

Softball was introduced at the Asian Games in 1990 in Beijing, China. Since then, it has been one of the most popular events at the Games.

Japan, China and Chinese Taipei hold overwhelmingly dominant records in the sport with eight medals each. Japan have bagged four golds and three silver medals while China have won three golds, two silvers and two bronze medals. Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei has four silvers and four bronze medals.

Along with the hosts Indonesia, Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, the Philippines and South Korea, were the other teams that participated in the 2018 Asian Games.

In the last edition of the Asian Games in 2018, Japan bagged the gold medal, Chinese Taipei finished second and China went on to win the bronze.