;)
By Gary Anderson at the Hotel El
Mehari in Hammamet
The creation of the World Baseball Softball
Confederation (WBSC) was not just to secure a return to the Olympic
programme but to develop all levels of both sports, the organisation's secretary
general Low Beng Choo has said.
The Malaysian, who was elected unopposed as secretary general here at the
WBSC's inaugural Congress in the Tunisian seaside resort, has claimed that
although returning baseball and softball to the Olympics is a key target, the
body's long term goal is to look beyond the Games and ensure the global
development of both sports.
The WBSC came into being following the merging of the International Softball
Federation (ISF) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) in December
2012 in a move primarily motivated to help baseball and softball's campaign to
secure a place at Tokyo 2020.
However, the campaign proved unsuccessful, with the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) controversially voting at its Session in Buenos Aires to retain
wrestling on the programme for Tokyo, despite it being recommended for
exclusion after Rio 2016 by the ruling executive board.
Nevertheless, both sports still harbour hopes of winning a reprieve for Tokyo
2020 after IOC President Thomas Bach intimated that they could yet make the cut
as part of his Agenda 2020 plan.
The WBSC is planning to meet with Bach prior to an Extraordinary Session of the
IOC, which is due to take place in Monte Carlo in December, where a decision on
whether baseball and softball will make their Olympic return following Beijing
2008 is expected to be made.
But, while admitting the December meeting is crucial, Low insists that it is
not the be-all and end-all for baseball and softball.
"Of course our primary goal is for Tokyo 2020 but that's not the
end," Low, who is vice-president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia and
also secretary general of the ISF, told insidethegames.
"The WBSC is not just about the Olympics but it is about the development
of all our disciplines.
"We want to make sure that our other disciplines such as men's softball
and women's baseball plus all our disciplines don't fall through the crack.
"The WBSC is creating commissions especially to look into this so that for
example the women's baseball people don't feel like they are not a part of it
and the men's softball people also.
"We are telling them from day one that they are very much a part of our
disciplines."
The development of
baseball and softball at all levels is the WBSC's main focus beyond the
Olympics according to Low Beng Choo ©WBSC
Low, who served as the secretary general on the interim WBSC board before
being officially elected here, added that she remains very hopeful that should
the sports be accepted for Tokyo 2020 that both men's softball and women's
baseball could potentially be included eventually.
The inaugural WBSC Congress saw a new 13-member executive board appointed to
run the organisation, which will be led by IBAF President Riccardo
Fraccari, who was elected unopposed following former ISF President Don
Porter's decision not to run.
Both men had been acting co-Presidents of the WBSC since the merger of the
international governing bodies. | 
