Korea to start Olympic title defense against Israel on July 29

An image tweeted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation shows the schedule for the group stage games in the baseball tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korea will open the defense of its baseball gold medal against Israel at 7 p.m. on July 29 at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.

Korea, which ranks at No. 3 globally, has been drawn in Group B at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, alongside world No. 4 the United States and No. 24 Israel.

Group A contains world No. 1 Japan, world No. 5 Mexico and world No. 7 the Dominican Republic. World No. 2 Taiwan is notably absent after pulling out of the tournament due to Covid-19 concerns.

After facing Israel on July 29, Korea's only other group game will be against the United States on July 31.

After the three teams in each group have played each other, the tournament will progress to the knockout stage, with all six teams qualifying. The top ranked team from each group will advance straight to the second round, while the the two second place teams and two third place teams will face each other in the first round.

In the second round, the top two teams will face off while the winners of the two first round games face off. The winner of those two games advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, the losers will continue to face off in two repechage rounds to determine which teams make it to the second semifinal.

The bronze medal and gold medal games will be played on Aug. 7.

Korea is the reigning champion in Olympic baseball, having won gold in Beijing in 2008, when the sport was last contested.

Olympic baseball coach Kim Kyoung-moon announced his final 24-man roster for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on June 16, with outfielder Kim Hyun-soo of the LG Twins and catcher Kang Min-ho of the Samsung Lions returning to the team for their second appearance on the big stage.

Other notable inclusions are former major leaguer Hwang Jae-gyun of the KT Wiz, all-star catcher Yang Eui-ji of the NC Dinos and infielder Kang Baek-ho of the Wiz, the youngest position player.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]