Korea's Super Round Match Against China Delayed by Heavy Rain

The South Korean baseball team, aiming for a spot in the finals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, faced a weather-related delay. Their Super Round match against China, a must-win for advancing, will start an hour late due to heavy rain.

The tournament organizing committee announced that the match, originally scheduled for 6:30 PM at Toyohashi City Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, could not begin on time due to the weather. Instead, it will take place at 7:30 PM.

The committee is committed to completing the game on the same day.

Earlier in the day, a ranking match between Hong Kong and the Philippines at the same venue was also interrupted by heavy rain before it was completed.

The Toyohashi City Stadium field is covered with a tarp, and the South Korean players have been training in an indoor bullpen.

Under coach Ryu Ji-hyun, the team is in urgent need of a victory. They finished the group stage with a perfect record but suffered a 5-0 defeat to a team of Japanese amateur players the previous day. They currently hold a record of one win and one loss in the Super Round.

To reach the finals, South Korea must defeat China, which has two losses in the Super Round. If South Korea loses to China and Taiwan defeats Japan, South Korea will not advance to the finals.

If South Korea loses to China and Japan beats Taiwan, a complicated scenario will arise where South Korea, Taiwan, and China all have a record of one win and two losses, necessitating a tiebreaker based on Team Quality Balance (TQB), calculated as '(runs scored/innings played) - (runs allowed/innings pitched)'.

The team has announced that right-handed pitcher Choi Min-seok (Doosan Bears) will start. The batting order will feature Kim Joo-won (shortstop), Moon Hyun-bin (left fielder), Kim Do-young (designated hitter), Moon Bo-kyung (first baseman), Noh Si-hwan (third baseman), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Park Jun-soon (second baseman), Kim Ji-chan (center fielder), and Jo Hyung-woo (catcher).

* This article has been translated by AI.