Japan promotes Baseball for Tomorrow in Sri Lanka

The Women’s Baseball Federation of Japan conducted a 5-day Baseball Coaching Camp in Sri Lanka, in cooperation with the Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Amateur Baseball/Softball Federation.

Five members who visited Sri Lanka are: Baseball Federation of Japan International Affairs Director Hiroko Yamada; Women’s Baseball National Team of Japan Coach Akiko Shimura; National Female Baseball Team of Australia Coach Risa Kagawa; former member of the Women’s Baseball National Team of Japan Ayako Rokkaku; and former JICA Volunteer in Kandy Kazuya Yagi, who contributed a lot to women’s baseball in Sri Lanka.

They came to Sri Lanka under the program called “Sport for Tomorrow”, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, to bring the joy of sports directly to ten million people in over one hundred countries by the time the Olympic torch reaches Tokyo in 2020, and to spread the value of sport for the future generation.

The Women’s Baseball Federation of Japan had two main objectives in visiting Sri Lanka, namely: 1) to spread the joy and excitement of baseball to those women and girls who are not familiar with baseball, and 2) to share the skills and techniques to those already active female players to improve their performance.

The first objective has been achieved through 3-day camps, with the participation of more than 100 beginners in Kandy on 6 and 7 December, as well as nearly 50 beginners, including those from students from Kelaniya University, Sri Jayewardenepura University, Sirimavo high school and Magedera high school in Diyagama (Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Ground) on 10 December.

As for the second objective, they conducted a baseball coaching camp for female players of Sri Lanka Army and Navy from 7-9 December at Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Ground.

Army Team Captain Milka Priyadarshani said: “This is the first time to be trained by Japanese coaches in my 4-year career. So I deeply appreciate this valuable opportunity.” Navy Team captain S.W.S.M. Wickramarathna said: “I have learnt a lot through this coaching camp. They are very kind and friendly, we enjoyed a lot. Simply it was very fun!”

At the farewell ceremony held in the Ambassador’s residence on 10 December, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama expressed his appreciation for the Sri Lankan players’ enthusiastic participation, and was impressed by their passion for excellence on baseball, and also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all those who made this camp possible, especially the Sri Lanka Amateur Baseball / Softball Association headed by Fazil Hussain.