The 25th Softball Asia Congress held this morning in Kuala Lumpur saw overwhelming support for the incumbents led by Chairman Pan Yi Chuan and President Datuk Low Beng Choo, who were elected unanimously for the 2026-2030 term.
Beng Choo was returned unopposed for her third consecutive term in her fourth time leading the association.
Pan was the President for one term (2014-2018), while Beng Choo was first time President from 2000-2014.
The Congress, after a roll call which saw a delegation of 50 attending, chairman Pan gave his opening address and congratulated the members for their close cooperation as a family to raise the standard of softball in Asia.
This was followed by the address by Low, who is also the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) secretary-general, who echoed Pan’s sentiments and added that Softball Asia had worked very hard to be where it is now.
“We have a vision and more often than not plan between four to eight years ahead to assist our members in elevating their standards,” said Low in her address.
“We are grateful to members like Japan, Chinese Taipei, and ately China and Korea for assisting us with their expertise in organsing tournaments and even in terms of financial assistance to Softball Asia. We have truly shown our Asian family ties to move forward by leaps and bounds.”
WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari was supposed to attend the Congress but could not make it because of last-minute duties; however sent a video message, which was played to the Congress.
In his speech, he apologised for failing to be present, but wished the Congress the very best for their meeting.
“I congratulate Softball Asia for being a very active continent that is doing so much for the game,” he said.
“Softball Asia also works very closely with WBSC for the development of the game. I am confident that Softball Asia will continue to shine, especially with the coming two years being busy calendar years. Many new talents have surfaced from Asia, and I am sure this is going to continue with your continuous hard work.”
