体坛英语新闻：Japanese baseball technicians to train Cubans

HAVANA, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Japanese baseball technicians are scheduled to arrive to Cuba to give a course to their Cuban counterparts on pitching, hitting and baseball strategy, a senior official said here on Thursday.

Cuban vice president and head of the local Olympic Committee, Jose Ramon Fernandez, said that the Japanese will give two local technical courses in Havana and Santiago de Cuba.

The official did not specify when the Japanese technicians are expected to arrive.

Fernandez said that through these courses, the Cuban will see how the Japanese "work hard with their training and the self- control and concentration of the Japanese athletes"

He stressed that their collaboration will provide benefits for the Cuban baseball and added that the island will receive foreign support on football.

Cuban baseball owned the world title for 25 years besides of three Olympic titles.

In 2009 Japan eliminated Cuba from the World Baseball Classic II in a match that ended 5-0 after having also defeated the island 's team in the First Classic in 2006.

By eliminating Cuba in 2009, Japan became the first team since 1951 to leave the Cubans off the end of one of the four international baseball major tournaments.