II U-12 Softball World Cup Press Conference: Team Profiles and Quotes

II U-12 Softball World Cup Press Conference: Team Profiles and Quotes
06/12/2022
The II WBSC U-12 Softball World Cup press conference took place in Taichung City on the eve of the tournament. The head coaches shared their thoughts on the competition, where Chinese Taipei are aiming to defend their title won in 2019.

The second edition of the WBSC U-12 Softball World Cup will have five teams, featuring returnees Chinese Taipei and the Czech Republic and new squads Hong Kong, India and Singapore all vying for the world title from 7-11 December in Jin-Long Field in Taichung, Chinese Taipei.

The hosts are looking to defend their title, following their sweep of all seven games in the 2019 edition, including their 3-2 triumph against Peru in an exciting final.

See WBSC U-12 Softball World Cup history here

See Team Rosters inside the II WBSC U-12 Softball World Cup Daily Report Day 0

Taichung City Government representative Li Yurui and Softball Asia chairman Pan Yu Chuan were the event's guests of honour, who welcomed all the delegates at the press conference on Tuesday.

Li Yurui, Taichung City Government Sports Bureau Director

“Baseball and softball are very popular sports in Taiwan. I would like to thank the WBSC for making Taichung the city of world baseball and softball, as the city that hosted important events like the Premier 12 and the 2022 U-23 Baseball World Cup. The government and the citizens will continue to support the U-12 Softball World Cup. As for the teams and players, I wish you great success in the tournament and I hope you enjoy your stay in Taichung City.”

Pan Yu Chuan, Chairman of Softball Asia

“We want to thank the WBSC for this opportunity to host another great event in Taiwan and we also want to thank the Chinese Taipei Softball Association for putting all this together. I wish all the teams to have fun in the tournament and wish you all good luck.”

The head coaches of each team were also presented to the media and shared their team’s main objectives in the competition.

Team Profile – Chinese Taipei

Defending champions
Previous Edition Played: 1
Best Finish: 1st (2019)
Total Medals 1 (gold in 2019)

Head Coach – Wu Chi-Tsu (TPE)

On his first time coaching the team and his objectives:

“This is my first time coaching a team in a WBSC event. I am not a sports professional, but an elementary school teacher and sport is my hobby.

“The main goal is to keep our record and win another gold medal in this event for the country. And because this event is being held in Taichung, as hosts, we want to keep winning and we want the trophy to stay here in Taiwan.”

On building and preparing his team for the competition:

“This tournament was first planned to be held in August and then it was moved to December. Some of our athletes have already moved from elementary to junior high, which made it difficult to gather them for training. So, we prepared a programme that would allow them to prepare and train individually. We were able to gather them all together seven days ago to train and work on their teamwork.

On defending the title:

“From what we have been doing so far, we focused on our pitching and defence because we know that will help us improve our performance. After the youth baseball games in Tainan, we were able to recruit two good players from baseball. When they started training, they strengthened our pitching and batting, so they are key to this competition and their good performance will help us a lot.”

On softball in Chinese Taipei:

“There isn’t much softball games or competitions for the youth in our country. There are two or three for the league and the Association Cup. This tournament is such a great platform for our athletes to look forward because it encourages them to perform better and aim for bigger things like representing the national team. And playing here will help them work harder in softball.

“In our country, most softball players are girls, so this is a unique opportunity for boys and girls to work together. Now many boys have the chance to see that girls in softball are playing well, and that would actually push them to work hard too. It is a great platform to work together and improve both their skills.”

Team Profile – Czech Republic

2019 Result: 3rd
Previous Edition Played: 1
Best Finish: 3rd (2019)
Total Medals: 1 (bronze in 2019)

Head Coach - Jana Klempirova (CZE)

On their chances in the competition after finishing third in the first edition:

“We know that the teams here are strong, so we must play hard in each game, especially against Chinese Taipei because they have a huge advantage as hosts of this tournament. We do not know yet about the other teams, but we know that we will play an even game with them. We do not want to underestimate any team here, so we will play hard and enjoy every game as well.”

On their strengths in the competition:

“We are prepared for every game in this tournament. Our key players are our pitchers, I can also say that we have strong offence.

On having a good softball programme in their country:

“We have a well-developed programme for softball in all categories for both boys and girls. We have a competition for every division year-round, as well as premier tournaments. We provide a way for young players as early as age seven to compete, up to the adult level. This is the result of the success of our national teams.

“The last U-12 Softball World Cup was a great reason for us to also focus on the youth programme in the country, where we try to find young and talented players and we participate in a lot of leagues for youth baseball and softball.”

Team Profile – Hong Kong, China

2019 Result: -
Previous Edition Played: 0
Best Finish: -
Total Medals: -

Head Coach – Franky Tso (HKG)

On his expectations in the tournament:

“This is the first time for Hong Kong to participate at the U-12 Softball World Cup. We want to enjoy this tournament, but also expect to gain more experience in each game, which could help us improve in future tournaments.

On the youth softball programme in his country:

“In Hong Kong, we have the U-12, U-15, U-19 and U-23 started three years ago. And we are combining both the youth baseball and softball teams to train.

“This is a good opportunity for Hong Kong to be participating in this tournament because we could see the level of the other U-12 teams. This will help us gain that experience that we could bring home to our country to create specific programmes that would develop our teams. When we are able to develop well, we aim to get good results to make it to the world stage.”

Team Profile - India

2019 Result: -
Previous Edition Played: 0
Best Finish: -
Total Medals: -

Team Leader – Pradeep Narulkar (IND)

On the youth programme in India:

“We started a U-10 and U-12 programme for kids five years ago, including the national championships where 800 players participated It took a halt because of the government guidelines imposed caused by the pandemic, so it was difficult to organise these national championships.

“Because we started with the youth national championships, our junior and senior programmes are reaping the benefits now because of the increase in the interest of kids through that grassroots programme.”

On the formation of the team:

“We tried our best to form a competitive team, but now is an examination period for students in India. Nonetheless we will utilize well whoever is available for this team in this tournament.”

Team Profile - Singapore

2019 Result: -
Previous Edition Played: 0
Best Finish: -
Total Medals: -

Head Coach – Elaine Chua (SGP)

On Singapore’s objectives and expectations in the tournament:

“The objectives for this competition are to expose these young players to competitive softball at the international level and to provide an opportunity for the players to learn from one another. My expectations are for the team to play hard, give their very best, have fun and enjoy the process.”

On the team’s key players:

“The team is quite dynamic, with players with different playing experience and skills. We have an equal number of 11- and 12-year-olds. Therefore, we don’t have key players but more of a team that will look to the boys for guidance on the field because most of them are infielders.”

On Singapore’s youth softball programme:

“In Singapore, we only have one major National Schools Competition in a year. Therefore, there isn’t much opportunity to compete and play competitive softball. However, we conduct age group trials yearly and this allows them to train and play with the better players, which helps improve their experience, knowledge and performance.”

On the U-12 Softball World Cup’s influence in future participation in more WBSC events:

“It was a learning experience for the coaches and the Singapore Baseball and Softball Association, in terms of managing athletes at this age since they are still maturing physically, mentally and emotionally.

“This tournament contributes to the progression of athletes from the U-12 to the U-15 and all the way to open national team. So we can try to ensure some continuity through the age groups so we can participate more competitively in even more WBSC events.”