Liu Zhong-il acknowledges that the team has evolved since its previous state, questioning whether the dominance of opponents will continue to decline

South Korea has a 19-11 record against Taiwan in international competitions involving professional players, including the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok. However, they have struggled against Chinese Taipei in recent years. They were swept 1-2 in the first round of qualifying for the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and were swept 0-7 in the 2019 Premier12 Super Round.

Aiming to win their first title in 17 years since Doha, Qatar, in 2006, Chinese Taipei has assembled a strong squad that includes players from their home league, as well as overseas players who play in the American minor leagues and Nippon Professional Baseball.

Before the tournament, coach Liu Zhong-il emphasized that his team would have to overcome Taiwan to win a fourth consecutive title. His fears were realized. South Korea suffered a 0-4 defeat to Chinese Taipei in the second game of their Group B preliminary round at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Shaoxing Baseball Stadium in Zhejiang, China on Tuesday (Feb. 2).

South Korea started with 160-kilometer fireballer Moon Dong-ju. The second-year right-hander is 8-8 with a 3.72 ERA in 23 games this season. The starting lineup is second baseman Kim Hye-sung, center fielder Choi Ji-hoon, third baseman Noh Si-hwan, designated hitter Kang Baek-ho, first baseman Moon Bo-kyung, right fielder Yoon Dong-hee, shortstop Park Sung-sung, catcher Kim Hyung-joon and left fielder Kim Sung-yoon.

For their counterparts, Chinese Taipei’s batting order is shortstop Tseng Chong-hsiao, left fielder Lin Hsuei-wei, designated hitter Lin-Li, right fielder Lin An-kou, first baseman Wu Nying-ting, second baseman Li Hsiao-yu, center fielder Shen Hao-wei, third baseman Lin Hsih-hao, and catcher Lin Jia-zheng. Lin Yumin, a left-handed pitching prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ minor leagues, took the mound.

However, he didn’t have a good at-bat. The Taiwanese starter was held scoreless until the sixth inning. He fired six hits, but none of them were converted into runs. Yoon Dong-hee struggled with three hits and Choi Ji-hoon with two, but key hitters like Kim Hye-sung (0-for-4), Noh Si-hwan (1-for-3), and Kang Baek-ho (0-for-4) failed to deliver.

“We lost, so there’s nothing to say,” manager Ryu Jung-il told reporters after the game. “We did a lot of research (on Taiwanese pitchers), but what we saw on the video was very different from what we saw in real life. The ball was fast and their changeup and control were both good.”

Ryu acknowledged the improvement, saying that Taiwan is not the same team it used to be. “It’s a lot different from a few years ago. The pitchers have studied a lot in the minor leagues, and the hitters used to get a lot of false swings on the changeup, but today they weren’t fooled by the changeup. The defense was weak in the past, but today it was solid.”

Korea could meet Chinese Taipei again if they advance to the final through the Super Round. 먹튀검증토토사이트 Coach Ryu Jung-il said, “We lost today, but we might have a chance next time. We’ll be happy to meet them again,” said Ryu.