The Hangzhou 2022 Organising Committee held a conference to familiarise stakeholders with baseball and softball venues ©WBSC

More than 150 local sports authorities attended the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games Organising Committee's (HAGOC) seminar introducing them to the baseball and softball tournaments set to take place in next year's event.

A further 300 national sports authorities attended the two-hour conference online which was conducted by HAGOC official Huang Qian, who was also captain of the Chinese national softball team in 2017.

A record nine teams are confirmed for the Hangzhou 2022 softball competition, including world number two side Japan, Chinese Taipei which occupies sixth place, and hosts China who are in ninth place on the world rankings.

The Philippines, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and India are also due to compete.

Both India and Singapore are making their Asian Games softball debuts at Hangzhou 2022.

The Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre is set to host Hangzhou 2022's baseball and softball tournaments ©WBSC
The Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre is set to host Hangzhou 2022's baseball and softball tournaments ©WBSC

The new Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Centre in Shaoxing City is due to host the competition in both of the disciplines.

The venue was approved for use earlier this year after passing its technical inspection.

It then staged its first event in June as the Chinese National Baseball Champions Cup welcomed 170 athletes from eight teams.

the venue is located 40 kilometres away from the main Asian Games venue, the Hangzhou Sports Park, and is reported to have cost around CNY1.8 billion (£221 million/$268 million/€257 million).

It consists of two international-standard baseball fields and a training centre and was designed with a commitment to sustainability as its walls and roof can produce self-cleaning effects and purify the air.