Taiwanese sports official Tom Peng has been elected to the top post in the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA), baseball’s governing body in Asia.
He is the first Taiwanese president of the BFA since it was established in 1954. Peng replaces Kang Seung-kyoo of South Korea and will serve a four-year term.
The election was announced last weekend at this year’s International Baseball Federation (IBAF) congress in Tokyo.
“Taiwan has been actively involved in Asian baseball for the past six decades. Finally a Taiwanese official can take up the leadership role for the game in Asia. It is also a recognition and honor for Taiwanese baseball on the world stage,” Peng said after his election.
“Team Taiwan did well at the World Baseball Classic tournament and have revitalized people’s passion for the game in Taiwan. This resurgence will have a tremendous impact on the development of Taiwanese baseball in the next 10 years,” he added.
Peng is vice chairman of the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA), Taiwan’s national baseball body, and had already served two previous terms as CTBA chairman from 1998 to 2006.
In the campaigning for BFA president last week, Peng was initially challenged by a rival South Korean candidate who later withdrew. Peng was then unanimously elected to the top post by all 17 members of the BFA voting body, who represent the various national governing bodies of the association’s member countries.
Peng also announced that Lin Hua-wei, who was coach of the Taiwan national team for 12 years and a star player in the 1980s, will be the new BFA secretary-general.
According to information from the CTBA, of the current 24 BFA member countries, two-thirds are “still in a nascent state of developing the game.”
As such, one major goal for Peng as president is to help these nations promote the game at grassroots levels, especially Little Leagues and amateur baseball.
One important outcome from the IBAF congress in Tokyo was ratification for the creation of a new global sporting body, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
This new organization is the result of a merger between the IBAF, world baseball’s governing body, and the International Softball Federation for a global campaign effort to get baseball and softball back in the Olympic Games.
“This is an historic day,” IBAF president and WBSC co-president Riccardo Fraccari said.
“We have brought a new level of worldwide unity and determination to our quest to return to the Olympics. The 65 million currently playing baseball and softball around the world now have a single federation to rally behind,” he said.
At the congress, Peng was also elected as an IBAF vice president, joining Alonso Perez of Mexico and Antonio Castro of Cuba as one of the global body’s three vice presidents.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
PROMISING TALENT: Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso was pleased with youngster Gonzalo’s performance and compared him to former ‘Los Blancos’ great Raul Spanish giants Real Madrid on Tuesday beat Juventus 1-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Borussia Dortmund, who edged Mexican side Monterrey. Serhou Guirassy struck twice for the German outfit as they scraped past Sergio Ramos’ side 2-1 in a tight last-16 clash in Atlanta, Georgia, and denied the former Real Madrid skipper a matchup against his former team. Youngster Gonzalo Garcia headed home his third goal of the tournament to help Madrid edge Italian side Juventus at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami earlier. It was an impressive display from Xabi Alonso’s Madrid side,