Professional sport returned to South Korea yesterday as COVID-19 restrictions were eased, with the first pitch thrown in a baseball pre-season derby in front of empty stands.
The Seoul-based Doosan Bears and LG Twins are South Korea’s biggest rivals in the nation’s most popular spectator sport and their shared stadium in the capital would usually be packed, but with fans barred, the stands were empty as the Twins’ Cha Woo-chan threw the first pitch.
Even the cheerleaders — an essential element of firing up the atmosphere at what would normally be a feverish encounter — were also absent.
Photo: AFP
The stadium was silent except for the continuous clicking of camera shutters from about 50 members of the media, and occasional shouts from the dugouts.
Reporters were not allowed to approach the players.
“Although it is being held behind closed doors, I think it’s good that we can hold these games for the fans who are watching from their homes,” LG Twins media officer Kim Kwang-hwan said. “We hope that the coronavirus outbreak will be contained soon so many fans can come and enjoy our game just like previous years.”
Sports fans around the world have been starved of live action because of the pandemic, with broadcasters resorting to repeats of matches from past years, while leagues face the prospect of paying rights-holders multimillion-dollar refunds.
South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the virus outside China, prompting professional sports, including soccer and baseball, to suspend or delay their seasons, but South Korea appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive “trace, test and treat” program.
Seoul at the weekend said that it would permit outdoor sport to resume behind closed doors in light of a steady decline in new cases.
The derby was among the first of 20 pre-season games and the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) yesterday said that the season would start behind closed doors on May 5.
Strict health guidelines were being enforced at the game.
Players had their temperature checked twice before the game, with masks strongly recommended in all parts of the stadium, except for on the field and in the dugout, the KBO said.
Players have been asked not to shake hands or exchange high-fives, while spitting is prohibited.
The Doosan Bears were last year’s champions, but the LG Twins ran out 5-2 winners in a one-sided encounter and more than 700,000 fans watched a stream of the match on Naver, the nation’s largest Internet portal.
“I like to relieve my stress by cheering at the stadium while munching on chicken and having a cup of beer, and it’s a shame that I can’t do that, but I think it’s much better than being worried about contracting the virus,” Bears fan Yi Hyon-hui said.
“This is a really good decision for all the fans who have been waiting,” she said.
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