Bangladesh baseball team clinched fourth spot in the 15th West Asia Baseball Cup 2023 after losing narrowly against a strong Sri Lanka in the third-place deciding match in Islamabad Wednesday.
This is the best achievement by Bangladesh in this competition where they have participated for the second time.
They finished fifth out of six teams in the last edition in 2019.
Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan, who made first appearance in 2010, by 12-2 to reach the semi-finals where they lost to Palestine to be up against 2019 champions Sri Lanka.
“We have got a better team than last time. Sri Lanka are last edition's champions. They are very strong but we gave them a fight,” Bangladesh Baseball-Softball Association's general secretary Aminul Islam Liton told Dhaka Tribune over whatsapp call.
Sri Lanka won the game by 3-1 points.
Pakistan, top ranked South/West Asian nation, eventually became champions after beating Palestine 11-3 in the final on the same day.
Bangladesh finished ahead of India, Nepal and Afghanistan among other participants in the tournament.
Baseball began its official journey in Bangladesh in 2006 following the formation of Bangladesh Baseball-Softball Association.
Majority of the members in the current squad came from Police team.
