South Korea Aims for Fifth Consecutive Asian Games Baseball Gold as Women's Handball Team Faces Japan in Final
Quick Look
- South Korea's baseball team, managed by Ryu Ji-hyun and composed of KBO stars, will face host Japan in the Asian Games final at Toyohashi on Sunday after bouncing back from a Super Round loss to China.
- The women's handball team will also play Japan for gold in Inazawa, with both teams undefeated in the round-robin stage.
- High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok seeks his first Asiad title after returning from a foot injury.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
South Korea has won five consecutive Asian Games baseball gold medals and six of the first seven women's handball golds since the sport's introduction in 1990. In the 2023 Asian Games final, South Korea lost to Japan in women's handball.
As the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games enter their final full week of the competition, South Korea will take aim at its fifth consecutive baseball gold medal Sunday.
Managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, the team made up of top stars from the Korea Baseball Organization will take on the host country Japan in the final at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Toyohashi, some 85 kilometers southeast of the main host city, Nagoya.
South Korea won all three preliminary games before absorbing a 5-0 loss to Japan to begin the Super Round on Friday. South Korea then bounced back to beat China 9-2 on Saturday in the second game of the Super Round, booking a spot in the final. Japan defeated Chinese Taipei 7-3 on Saturday and will now try to take down South Korea for a second straight game.
Also on Sunday, the women's handball team will face Japan in the teams' final game with the gold medal on the line. The contest begins at 6 p.m. at Entrio in Inazawa, just northwest of Nagoya.
The women's handball tournament here does not have a knockout stage and will award medals based on the final standings after round-robin play.
With five of six games in the books for all seven participants, South Korea and Japan are the only undefeated teams, with five wins apiece, entering their Sunday showdown.
Women's handball was added to the Asian Games in 1990, and South Korea won the first five straight gold medals and six of the first seven. In the 2023 Asiad final, South Korea lost to Japan 29-19.
In athletics, high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok will chase his first Asiad title amid recent struggles. The two-time silver medalist missed about three months after suffering a foot injury during a May competition and has not come close to matching his season-high mark of 2.30 meters since returning in August. (Yonhap)
Open Questions
- Will South Korea secure its sixth straight baseball gold medal?
- Can Woo Sang-hyeok return to form and win his first Asian Games high jump title?
- Will Japan avenge its 2023 women's handball loss to South Korea?
