A Different League

From a bird’s eye view, one can only see a single dominant sport in Pakistan: Cricket! No surprises there. While it is true that cricket dominates the sports arena, other sports are on the rise too. I was surprised into “wow-ing” when I read in a news paper that Pakistan ranked 3rd in Asia and 10th in the world in Rugby. Yes Rugby! I didn’t even know we had rugby in Pakistan! Well now I do, and there’s a rugby match coming up – which I will attend!

But this isn’t about Rugby. I’m here to talk about Baseball. I had absolutely no idea that Pakistan participated in it (6th in Asia, 20th in the world). Pakistan is the current West Asia Cup champion (and has been so for consecutive spell). 2016 is turning out to be a good year in Pakistani sport – the men’s baseball team will be playing in the qualifier for World Baseball Classic in Brooklyn, New York in September. The women’s team made it to the Women’s Baseball World Cup (also in September) in South Korea.

I had the good fortune of attending the National Women Baseball Championship in June this year. In the sweltering heat of summer in Lahore, the young women displayed unbreakable resolve and good spirit. They were excited to show their skills in a global arena. One of the players talked about some of the opposition they faced: being women, people didn’t think they were strong enough to play the game. The relentless spirit evident in her voice conveyed to me that she wasn’t just playing to win, she way paying to break that misconception.

With the Women’s World Cup creeping up on us, I wish the Women in Green all the luck. Go