A close kin of baseball, Softball is played on a smaller field, using a larger ball. The pitch used for a softball game is known as Diamond. Played between two teams - batters and fielders - comprising nine players each, softball is loosely based on the rules of baseball.
Softball is called so because the pitcher has to throw the ball underarm 'softly' to the batter. The batter has to advance from base to base to score runs.
The team that has the highest runs on board after seven innings wins a softball game. Fast-pitch, slow-pitch and modified-pitch are the three kinds of Softball events.
At the Doha Asian Games, only women will compete in Softball events. There will be a total of six participating teams in Asian Games 2006 softball competitions. Since the 11th Asian Games in Beijing, softball has been a regular part of the Games schedule.
List of events