(Photo: Yonhap News) South Korea starting pitcher Kwak Bin throws a pitch during the first inning of the Group B opening match in the baseball tournament at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games against Taiwan at the Okazaki Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 21.
The South Korean national baseball team has defeated Taiwan, considered its biggest hurdle in its quest for a fifth consecutive Asian Games title.
Led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, the national team defeated Taiwan 5-0 on September 21 in its opening Group B match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Okazaki Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, propelled by the brilliant pitching of starting pitcher Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears).
With matches remaining against relative underdogs Hong Kong and Thailand, the national team is expected to advance to the Super Round, contested by the top four teams, as the group leader.
Kwak, who leads this season's KBO League in ERA (2.26) and strikeouts (186), completely shut down the Taiwanese lineup with a brilliant performance, allowing only two walks while striking out 10 without giving up a single hit over 6 innings, backed by a fastball reaching a top speed of 157 km/h.
Although Kwak was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, he was unable to pitch in a single game due to muscle spasms at the time, completely washing away that lingering burden in a single day.
The trusted batting lineup was initially tied down by the stellar pitching of Taiwanese corporate team pitcher Lin Yi-wei (First Commercial Bank).
Manager Ryu Ji-hyun arranged the batting order with Kim Do-young (third baseman, KIA Tigers), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Noh Si-hwan (first baseman, both Hanwha Eagles), Moon Bo-kyung (designated hitter, LG Twins), Kim Joo-won (shortstop, NC Dinos), Park Jun-soon (second baseman, Doosan), Cho Hyung-woo (catcher, SSG Landers), Park Jae-hyun (right fielder, KIA), and Kim Ji-chan (center fielder, Samsung Lions) in that order.
Right-hander Lin Yi-wei, displaying fastballs and precise off-speed control, effectively managed the South Korean bats for 5 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk for 1 run.
The run conceded was an unearned run resulting from an infielder's error.
South Korea seized an opportunity in the bottom of the 2nd inning when leadoff hitter Moon Bo-kyung reached base on a throwing error by the shortstop.
Kim Joo-won immediately followed with a single to right field, advancing Moon Bo-kyung to third base.
After Park Jun-soon retired on a pop fly to the second baseman, Cho Hyung-woo drew a walk, setting up a golden opportunity with one out and the bases loaded.
Nineteen-year-old Park Jae-hyun pushed an outside fastball from 20-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Lin Yi-wei for a sacrifice fly to left field, driving in his first-ever international tournament RBI.
The previously stifled South Korean bats finally manufactured an insurance run in the 7th inning against Taiwan's second relief pitcher, Liu Chih-jung (unattached).
Just like in the 2nd inning, Moon Bo-kyung drew a walk, and Kim Joo-won followed with a clean single to center field to open up a chance with no outs and runners on first and third.
Park Jun-soon immediately hit a deep RBI double dropping down the right-field line, and with runners on second and third with no outs, Cho Hyung-woo hit a sacrifice fly to center field, widening the gap to 3-0.
In the 8th inning, after Kim Do-young hit a double to right-center field, Noh Si-hwan added another run with a sacrifice fly, and pinch hitter Yoon Dong-hee (Lotte Giants) sealed the victory with a towering solo home run to left field.
Kim Joo-won swung a hot bat, going 3-for-4.
Park Young-hyun (kt wiz), who pitched the 9th inning, allowed two hits to Taiwan after one out, narrowly breaking up the team's no-hitter bid. However, Kwak Bin, Cho Byung-hyun (SSG, 2 innings, 3 strikeouts, no runs), and Park Young-hyun combined for a team shutout while striking out 15 batters, overpowering the Taiwanese lineup with sheer power.
Meanwhile, hundreds of South Korean baseball fans wearing the uniform tops of the 10 KBO League clubs and the South Korean national baseball team gathered at the ballpark, chanting the cheer songs of all 10 teams to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a home game for South Korea.
After the match, manager Ryu Ji-hyun expressed gratitude to the fans, saying, "Our players must have physically and strongly felt the energy sent by the fans," and added, "We will make sure to achieve good results in the final, which falls on the last day of the Chuseok holiday."
South Korea will play its second match against Hong Kong tomorrow (the 22nd) at 6:30 PM at the Toyohashi Stadium in Aichi Prefecture.
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