Joining the Olympic family in 1996, softball will be dropped from the Olympic program after the 2008 Games.

Though it receives less attention than soccer or other popular sports in China, softball has been springing up in college campus as a proposal of including the sport in the National University Games has been submitted to Chinese Education Ministry.

"At first I played it out of curiosity," said a sophomore from Xinjiang University in remote northwest of China. "Now I am really into it and I learn teamwork and communication skills from this sport."

"At the softball field of the City Games, many umpires are from colleges," said Professor Zhuang Zi, the director of registering department of softball in the City Games.

Professor Zhuang also works as the secretary-general of the University Softball Association in Shanghai, which comprises 14 college teams since its launch in 1998.

Baseball was introduced to China in the end of the 19th century. In 1996, the Atlanta Olympics became a milestone for Chinese softball, when the Chinese side grabbed the silver medal.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2007)