Wedding bells and the grueling prospect of military service are prompting Kim Tae-kyun and Choo Shin-soo to capture the Asian Games baseball gold for South Korea.
South Korea, the 1998 and 2002 champions, clash with holders Taiwan in their opening match in the eight-nation tournament today while Japan, who won the inaugural Asiad title in 1994, face China on Monday.
Kim, a hard-hitting first baseman, whose Japanese club Chiba Lotte Marines won the Japan Series title on Sunday, is due to marry South Korean television sports announcer Kim Seok-ryu next month.
“Seok-ryu has prepared for the wedding by herself while I was away in Japan. If I present her the champion’s ring and the Asian Games gold medal, it may ease my guilty feelings,” he told South Korean media.
An Asian Games gold medal could save fellow 28-year-old Choo, an outfielder for the Cleveland Indians, from having to serve two years in the South Korea military as Olympic and Asian Games champions are exempt from conscription.
A controversial, last-ditch option for him would be to begin the process of becoming a US citizen.
“If we play well, maybe we’ll win,” Choo told www.mlb.com. “That’s my first goal. Then the next thing would be my military obligation. But it’s not the first thing I’m trying for. I’m playing for Korea.”
Kim and Choo are the only foreign-based players in South Korea’s squad while Taiwan feature eight players plying their trade in the US major leagues.
Japan again field amateurs from corporate-sponsored domestic leagues.
Taiwan manager Yeh Chih-hsien has a strong pitching staff led by Chen Hung-wen of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and Yang Yao-hsun of Japan’s Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
Shortstop Hu Chin-lung, who played 14 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, and Pittsburgh Pirate Chen Yung-chi headline a talented hitting line-up.
However, Japan, whose professional stars won the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006 and retained the title last year, should not be ignored.
“I had thought Taiwan were strong but after reading a report from our analysis team, I have come to feel that Japan’s amateur team are stronger,” said South Korea manager Cho Bum-hyun. “We can never be complacent against Japan.”
South Korea lost to an all-amateur Japan 10-7 in the last 2006 Asian Games in Doha where they also bowed out 4-2 to Taiwan in the semi-finals.
Japan are in Group A with China, Thailand and Mongolia. Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Pakistan are in Group B.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals.
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