Source: Iran Times

Yu Darvish, the Iranian-Japanese baseball star, has been named a pitcher on Japan's baseball team at this month's Olympics.

Darvish is the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother who met while they were both studying in the United States.  He is one of the biggest stars in Japanese baseball and many expect him eventually to go to the United States.

Darvish held dual Iranian and Japanese citizenship until last year, when he dropped his Iranian citizenship to comply with Japanese Olympic rules that athletes be only Japanese citizens.  Japanese law also requires duals nationals to make a decision on one or the other by the time they turn 22, which Darvish will do next year.

Last week, he was named one of 10 pitchers on Japan's Olympic team, which hopes to win the final gold medal before baseball is dropped from the Olympic program.  Because the U.S. baseball schedule is nearing its high point at the time of the Olympics, the top U.S. players have ignored the Olympics, reducing interest in the Olympic version of the sport.

Darvish stands 6-foot-5 (196 centimeters) and has racked up an imposing record as a pitcher with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's professional league. 

About Iran Times: The Iran Times is an independent newspaper with no affiliation with any political party or faction The Iran Times corporation was founded in Washington D.C. in 1970, in accordance with U.S. federal and local regulations: www.iran-times.com

... Payvand News - 08/08/08 ...

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