Wuxi, a city in the southern Jiangsu province, 140 kilometres from Shanghai, will be home to the first blind baseball team in China. On Monday, 1 April, 15 players from Changzhou, Jiangyin, Suzhou and Wuxi City gathered at the Taihu Square Football Stadium for their first blind baseball practice.
Two experienced baseball coaches ran the activity with the assistance of 15 volunteers, who were also in charge of the players' safety.
The Wuxi Baseball and Softball Association ran the day with the support of the World Baseball Softball Association (WBSC), the China Baseball Association, and Running in the Dark, a charity running group that has assisted visually and hearing-impaired runners since 2019.
"This not only marks another important milestone for parasports in China but also demonstrates Wuxi's firm determination and outstanding achievements in promoting its development," stated the Wuxi Baseball and Softball Association. "This blind baseball team is another important step after successfully forming the country's first hearing-impaired student baseball team in Wuxi. We look forward to the day when the Wuxi Blind Baseball Team can represent China on the world stage."
In early 2023, the WBSC donated four blind baseball starter's kits to the Chinese Baseball Association.
The WBSC and the Chinese Baseball Association introduced blind baseball in Wuxi in August 2023 with a course involving 90 visually impaired people, volunteers and media members.
The WBSC also supported the participation of two Chinese coaches in a clinic held in Bologna, Italy, before the inaugural Blind Baseball European Championship.
