BASEBALL/Pakistan withdrawal from U-18 World Cup leaves Taiwan with workout day

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Taiwan will not play its second game in the U18 Asian Baseball Championship on Tuesday after Pakistan withdrew from the tournament, and will hold a workout instead, according to manager Wu Po-hung (吳柏宏).

Wu confessed he would have preferred to have his team play on consecutive days to help his players get into a rhythm, but he said he will try to keep them fresh by holding a workout.

Pakistan forfeited its opening game Monday against Thailand, even though six of its players residing in the United States, Canada and Japan had already arrived in Taiwan.

On Monday afternoon, the Pakistani team confirmed to the organizer of the tournament, which is being played in Taiwan, that it was withdrawing because the majority of its players in Pakistan could not make it to Taiwan for the tournament.

There was speculation that the Pakistani government may have blocked its players from coming to Taiwan due to its adherence to the "One China" policy.

But Chinese Taipei Baseball Association Secretary-General Richard Lin (林宗成) denied the rumors, saying without elaborating that his organization was in contact with the Pakistani government to discuss details related to the issue.

The tournament, which has teams from Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka, opened Monday and is being played at stadiums in Tianmu (Taipei), Xinzhuang (New Taipei), and Taoyuan.

Thailand won by forfeit over Pakistan, the Philippines topped Sri Lanka 10-0, and Japan beat Hong Kong 19-0.

Taiwan was playing South Korea Monday night at the Tianmu Baseball Stadium.