Exhibition baseball event held in Mumbai

In an effort to popularise baseball in India, Pegasus Sports in association with Grand Slam Baseball organised a school level exhibition event here.

Some of the top schools and colleges of the city including Podar International School, Don Bosco High School, Rajhans Vidyalaya and others took part in the event which took place here on Tuesday evening.

The evening saw the presence of Pegasus Sports managing director Shlok Tripathi and Raunaq Sahni along with Dr. Aneel Kashi Murarka , Ankur Nayyar, Nakul Khanna , Namit Khanna, DJ Sheizwood, Prashant Sharma, Mitaali Nag and Shweta Khanduri.

"We plan to encourage the sport amongst young players so that they can hone their game and go ahead to play at the International level. Our aim is to create at least one player from India, who can play at Major League Baseball and inspire others in the country," Sahni said.

Tripathi said: "Baseball is played in many parts of the country and it always amazed me why a city like Mumbai has not yet taken to it. You have a bat-and-ball culture and mentality, so baseball seems a natural fit. Our objective is to groom players who can then compete at the professional and international level."

Grand Slam Baseball is a grassroots initiative that organises local, national, and international tournaments while providing coaching and access to equipment in private and public schools in order to develop the game at the youth level.

Grand Slam Baseball has already set up India's first professional size baseball stadium in New Delhi. Now, Pegasus and Grand Slam Baseball together are striving to develop the game in Mumbai.

The initiative is an attempt to bring the sports closer to the hearts of young Indians by targeting school and college students. The plan is to introduce the sport as part of the curriculum activities and organise intercollegiate baseball tournaments to boost the game.

--IANS

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