Members of the India team practise baseball on Ravenshaw University ground in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, March 26: The 25th Junior National Baseball Championship is all set to be hosted in Cuttack city. The five-day-long championship, organised under the aegis of the Amateur Baseball Federation of India, will begin tomorrow.

The host of the event, the Baseball Association of Odisha, is busy with the preparations. The association has already organised the matches at Barabati Stadium and Satyabrata Stadium in Cuttack.

“We have arranged for the accommodation of candidates at Barabati Stadium with the help of the Odisha Olympic Association. Since, Satyabrata Stadium is looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India, we have requisitioned the stadium from them,” said association secretary Sibananda Pradhan.

Cuttack had hosted the Asian Under-15 Baseball Tournament at Barabati Stadium in November 2012. The weeklong international tournament was also organised by the Baseball Association of Odisha with the support of the Amateur Baseball Federation of India and the Baseball Federation of Asia. The tournament featured 200 players from Japan, Korea, China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India.

Baseball fans are upbeat about the upcoming event. “The last championship made us feel proud that our city was host to so many competent teams from all over Asia. This time, we will watch budding players from the country play baseball in the city,” said Sushil Sahoo, a sports enthusiast.

In the junior national championship, about 800 hitters and pitchers from 25 states will be seen displaying their talent. The players will be accompanied by about 200 members of the technical staff. With impressive performance by both the Odisha girls and boys’ teams in the previous years, there would be lots of hopes pinned on the state teams this year, too.

“In the 24th edition of the junior nationals, the state boys’ and girls’ team had bagged the fourth position. Moreover, in the last Senior National Baseball Championship, women emerged champions while men were placed in the top six. We are sure are the players will perform very well in the ensuing championship,” Pradhan said.

A coaching camp was also conducted after due selection process where the young players were groomed by coach Subhash Swain.

“Our team’s performance will be better than even last year. We are hoping to get a position in the top three,” said Swain.

The budget for the event is Rs 8,50,000, of which the Union government will provide Rs 4,00,000. The rest has been collected from the state government and various donors and sponsors.

The event will conclude on March 31.