A group of Maltese boys recently attended the 20th annual World Children’s Baseball Fair (WCBF) in Tokyo, Japan.

Danjel Aquilina, Maximilian Borg, Sami Elamin, Gabriel Grixti and Nicholas Micallef, along with their coach, Charles Attard, represented Malta at this year’s fair.

They were chosen from a number of children who had participated in leagues organised by the Malta Baseball and Softball ­Association.

Professional coaches from the International Baseball Federation set up six mornings of intensive training for the children, giving them tips of how to refine their game and improve their skills on the field.

Malta was awarded the Outstanding Performance award along with the US and New Zealand.

Co-founder and Japanese baseball legend, Sadaharu Oh attended this year’s WCBF, while Hall of Famer and two-time world champion Lou Brock made several appearances on the baseball diamond, signing autographs and taking pictures with the young athletes.

All events were held at the Metropolitan Komozawa Olympic Park.

The World Children Baseball Foundation also organised several off-the-field events, such as attending the fifth World University Baseball Championship between Japan and China.

This was the first time the Maltese boys had attended a baseball game at a stadium, which was hosted at the home of the Tokyo Swallows, Meiji Jingu Stadium.

The children also got the chance to experience a traditional Japanese festival and Kabuki, a traditional form of Japanese theatre.

The youngsters also visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.