Japan super round clash could be do or die for Korean baseball team

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Japan super round clash could be do or die for Korean baseball team

Published: 04 Oct. 2023, 17:59

Korea's Yoon Dong-hee celebrates during the final game of the group stage against Thailand, which Korea won 17-0 by the five-inning mercy rule on Tuesday at the Hangzhou Asian Games. [NEWS1]

Defending baseball champions Korea will face medal favorites Japan on Thursday in a super-round game where a loss would make it seriously difficult for either team to qualify for the final round at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Expect a tough fight between Korea, who took gold five years ago at the last Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Japan, gold-medalists two years ago at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the winner of this year's World Baseball Classic.

Despite Japan's clear dominance on paper with the expectation that either Korea or possibly Chinese Taipei would be next in the running, the competition at this year's Asian Games is made far more unpredictable as neither Japan or Korea opted to send full-strength squads while the KBO and Nippon Professional Baseball leagues are still in season.

Korea must win the game on Thursday at noon local time, 1 p.m. in Korea for a shot at the finals and a chance to defend their title, which they’ve held for three-consecutive Asian Games, winning gold in 2010, 2014 and 2018.

Scoring now works like this: Each team’s record from the preliminary “Group” stage carries over to the “Super Round,” with China and Chinese Taipei coming in with a win each — one point over both Korea and Japan.

The teams with the most points after the super round make it to the finals, and the bottom two teams are consigned to a battle for bronze.

Four teams — China, Chinese Taipei, Korea and Japan — made it past the preliminary stage and into the super round, the phase of the Asiad that determines the medal round match-ups.

China and Chinese Taipei are so far undefeated, topping their respective groups each with a 3-0 record. They will next face off on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. in Korea.

Korea and Japan enter their super round match each with two wins and a loss. Korea lost to Chinese Taipei 4-0 in a tough Group B upset on Monday and Japan to China, 1-0, in their final Group A game on Tuesday.

Whichever team loses the Korea-Japan game has likely fallen out of gold mention contention, because due to the handicaps, a win would only put them on par with the loser of the China-Chinese Taipei game.

Korea then faces China at noon local time, 1 p.m. in Korea on Friday, while Japan meets Chinese Taipei on Friday at 6:30 local time, 7:30 in Korea for the last game before the medal round.

BY MARY YANG AND JIM BULLEY [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]