Nation cultivating a love for baseball

China has launched the inaugural 'T-Ball" national championship in an ambitious task to cultivate more baseball and softball talents among youths.

Facing an overwhelming nationwide passion for basketball and a wide range of sports outlets, the development of baseball and softball has hit rock bottom in China, in particular, after the two sports were voted out of the 2012 London Olympics. That's the main drive behind the launch of the tournament on "T-Ball", a simplified version of softball using plastic bats, rubber balls and fixed pitching.

The first-time event, which ended yesterday at Beijing's National Olympic Center, attracted more than 200 players from 11 primary and high schools around China. The schools affiliated to Beijing Institute of Technology were the biggest winners of the tournament, capturing first-place in the women's high school tournament and the primary school tournament. Yuxin High School of Beijing took the crown in the men's high school tournament.