Taiwan fought back late but it wasn't enough as they suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of South Korea in Taichung last night.
The win pushed Taiwan into third place at the end of the IBAF Olympic Qualifier and the Koreans second. Earlier in the day Canada beat Germany 2-1 to finish first overall. All three qualified for the Olympics.
Taiwan scored two runs in the bottom of the first to jump to an early lead, but the Koreans came back in the second because of poor fielding by Taiwan.
With a runner on second, Lee Dae-ho hit a grounder that bounced just out of reach of Lin Yi-chuan, who appeared to barely make an effort to field the ball. Lee Taek-keun followed with an RBI single, and then Park Jin-man hit a grounder to Lin who again failed to recover a ball that was hit within a couple of meters of him.
The bases were loaded with no outs for Jin Kab-yong, who hit a sacrifice fly. Jeong Seong-hoon followed with a grounder to Lin Che-hsuan. Lin fielded the ball cleanly, but dropped it as he was about to throw it to first, giving Lee Taek-keun time to run home and put South Korea up 3-2.
The Koreans added another run in the top of the third when Kim Joo-chan showed off his speed by stealing both second and third bases and then was hit home off a single by Lee Dae-ho.
Taiwan reduced the South Korean lead in the fifth when Chang Chien-ming reached first and was hit home off a double by Peng Cheng-min to put Taiwan within one. But that was all Taiwan could muster.
Taiwan's best hitter of the tournament, Lo Kuo-hui, was quiet yesterday, striking out in his first three at bats. He finally reached base in the eighth when he hit a long double, but he was left stranded.
Korean slugger Lee Seung-yuop was two for three with a double and sparked his team's three-run second.
Lee led the tournament in RBI, and is among the top 10 in both batting average and home runs.
The win went to South Korean starter Kim Kwang-hyun. The 19-year-old rose to instant fame last November when he beat the Japanese champion Chunichi Dragons in the third Konami Cup Asia Series. It was the first time the Japanese champion had lost the Konami Cup.
Canada 2, Germany 1
Canada needed to beat Germany at the Douliou stadium in Yunlin County to win the tournament. But the Germans belied their underdog status by taking the game to a 10th inning before the Canadians picked up a second run.
Australia 13, South Africa 11
Australia won its final match of the Olympic Qualifiers 13-11 yesterday afternoon at the Douliou stadium, ending a disappointing tournament on a better note. South Africa turned in its best game of the tournament, remaining competitive throughout and scoring seven runs in the second inning.
Mexico 2, Spain 1
The Mexicans finished their campaign on a bright note: a fourth consecutive win and fourth place in the standings. They equalized in the sixth and pulled ahead in the eighth.
STANDINGS | P | W | L |
Canada | 7 | 6 | 1 |
South Korea | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Taiwan | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Mexico | 7 | 4 | 3 |
Australia | 7 | 4 | 3 |
Germany | 7 | 2 | 5 |
Spain | 7 | 1 | 6 |
South Africa | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Also see: Taiwan wraps up presentation on foreign investment
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
RSS