Chinese Olympic Medalist Yan Fang donates 2 million for softball development
Former Chinese National Women’s Softball Team player Yan Fang officially signed an agreement with the China Sports Foundation in Beijing and established the “China Sports Foundation- Yan Fang Softball Fund”. She donated RMB 2 million (283’000 USD) to support the development of the junior softball players.
Yan Fang was an outstanding female softball player. She was born in Beijing in 1969 and joined the Beijing women’s softball team in 1982. She also served as the Captain of the national women’s softball team. In 1996, she won the silver medal for women’s softball in the Atlanta Olympic Games and 4th place in the Sydney Olympic Games. Moreover, she won three consecutive championships in the Asian Games, respectively in 1990, 1994 and 1998. In 2000, she graduated from the University of Oklahoma and later became an international sporting personality. Yan Fang has always been keen on the development of softball in China.
Yan Fang batting in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games – image courtesy of Chinese Softball Association
At the fund inauguration ceremony, Yan Fang said: “Softball has occupied the most important time in my life. Since entering the national team at the age of 17, I collected a gold medal at the Junior World Championship, as well as many other awards. All these achievements are attributed to my country, my coaches and my teammates, so I sincerely appreciate softball, as well as to everyone who has helped me. My main purpose of setting up this fund is to support the growth of Chinese softball and I am so glad to make this little contribution to continue to carry forward the softball spirit. I sincerely hope that this fund will be helpful to the development of youth softball and promote prosperity and development of Chinese softball.”
China is currently ranked 8th in the WBSC World Rankings and the national team is currently competing in the U-19 Women’s Softball World Cup where they qualified for the Super Round.
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