Olympic Games

Venues-Softball

Fengtai softball field

Last Updated: Friday, May 30, 2008 | 9:29 AM ET

Bernice Chan CBC Sports

A softball match is held at the Fengtai Softball Stadium on September 4, 2006 in Beijing, China. (Guang Niu/Getty Images)

Although major league baseball is relatively new to China, the Chinese women have what it takes to play softball.

In the 1996 Atlanta Games, China reached a milestone by winning a silver medal.

And last October the Chinese national women’s team beat Canada 5-0 in the finals to win the China Cup International Softball Tournament in Beijing. The Chinese even beat Australia, ranked third in the world.

With home advantage, the Chinese will be strong contenders for Olympic gold this summer.

The tournaments will be held at the Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field, southwest of the city, about half an hour’s drive from the Olympic green, where the National Stadium is.

It’s one of the 11 venues renovated for the Games, a process that took about a year. Improvements include environmentally friendly and energy efficient materials, like using solar energy to heat water for athletes and officials.

The complex includes two competition grounds and one for training, with new blue seats for 10,000 spectators in the main stadium.

However, this is the last time softball will make an appearance as an Olympic sport as critics complained the United States dominates in this event as well as baseball.

Nevertheless, more young Chinese players are picking up softball, learning it during their time on post-secondary campuses. So the sport may become a big hit later with its growing awareness in China.