South Korean national baseball team ace Kwak Bin boosted his stock with a dominant pitching performance at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

In the team's opening Group B match against Taiwan held at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, today (the 21st), Kwak laid the foundation for a 5-0 victory by pitching six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.

He did not allow a single hit, conceding only two walks.

Taiwanese batters were helpless against Kwak's fastballs and changeups.

Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone after the game, Kwak said, "The first game is important for our team, and I tried to pitch carefully. I'm glad it yielded a good result."

He evaluated his performance, saying, "I hadn't pitched in a real game for two weeks so I lacked feel, but I talked a lot with catcher (Cho) Hyoung-woo to figure out the umpire's strike zone early in the game and understand the batters' tendencies. My fastballs and changeups were good, and I focused on command rather than velocity. However, it's a pity I gave up two unnecessary walks."

When asked if he was conscious of the strikeouts, he brushed it off with a laugh, saying, "If you could get strikeouts just by being conscious of them, I would have gotten 300," adding that he didn't care about it at all.

Kwak said, "There were times when I rushed after issuing walks. I arrived in Japan the other day and threw in the bullpen, but it wasn't good, and pitching alongside the national team pitchers made me try too hard," adding, "That's why I resolved to focus on my breathing."

Kwak won a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held three years ago.

However, after joining the national team, a back spasm prevented him from pitching a single game in the tournament, leaving him unable to shake off a sense of burden afterward.

When asked if that backstory was why he clenched his teeth and pitched today, Kwak showed a strong sense of responsibility, stating, "Just pitching well today is not enough. Our team has to win the championship no matter what, and once I win and pitch well, I will talk limitlessly then," signaling his determination to take the mound again in the Super Round or the finals and secure South Korea's gold medal with his own hands.

Finally, Kwak said, "I will put today's game out of my mind, recover well to pitch more innings and achieve better results, and prepare for my next appearance."

(Photo: Yonhap News)