The Indian women's softball team will compete in the Asian Games for the first time later this year after receiving a wild card for the Hangzhou event, according to the Softball Association of India.
Softball Asia's executive committee authorised the Indian team's wildcard entrance during a meeting on February 23.
"The inclusion of a women's team in the Asian Games as a wild card represents a watershed moment for Softball in India. Because many major international events have a women's category, the Hangzhou Games will provide an opportunity to develop and groom our female athletes.
“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," President of Softball Association of India Neetal Narang said.
“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," she continued.
The Indian Olympic Association has already accepted the Indian team's participation in the 19th Asian Games.
“It is a matter of serious concern as there are negligible women’s coaches for softball in our country. We would focus on emphasizing and grooming our players for the future. A total of 11 states enrolled 43 participants of which 15 are females in the recently concluded 6-week coaching programme," she said, adding that softball was dropped from Sports Authority of India’s curriculum in 2018 due to low participation of players for the diploma course.
Softball was a part of the Tokyo Olympics, and it will be part of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
