Taiwan yesterday defeated South Korea 4-0 in the opening game of the Asian Baseball Championship in front of a crowd of more than 16,000 at the newly opened Taipei Dome.
The team was led by a starting pitcher Hsu Ruo-hsi, who in a dominant performance recroded 10 strikeouts and allowed only two hits in seven scoreless innings on the mound.
Eighteen-year-old Sun I-lei came to close out the final two innings, ensuring that Taiwan hung on to their four-run lead, after scoring three runs in the third inning and another in the fourth.
Photo: CNA
The eight-day championship is to take place at the Taipei Dome, Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium and New Taipei City’s Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium, the Baseball Federation of Asia has said.
Taiwan and South Korea are in Group A along with Hong Kong and Palestine, while Japan, the Philippines, Pakistan and Thailand are in Group B. The super round is scheduled for Friday and Saturday and the finals are on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh expressed his high expectations for the future of the sport in Taiwan at the opening ceremony for the Taipei Dome on Saturday.
Photo: CNA
Oh, a Taiwanese-Japanese known as the “global home-run king” for scoring 868 homers in his pro career, was invited to Taiwan to throw the first pitch in Taiwan’s first indoor baseball stadium, which he called a watershed moment in the nation’s baseball history.
“The completion of the Taipei Dome is a milestone in Asia. It is as great as the ones in Tokyo and Fukuoka, maybe even better. I hope the [Taiwanese] players can have more confidence and fight for the glory of Taiwan and Asia. Team Taiwan must beat Team South Korea tomorrow,” Oh said.
Also at the ceremony were World Baseball Softball Confederation president Riccardo Fraccari, CTBA president Jeffrey Koo Jr and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an.
Oh said he was honored and pleased to be attending the Taipei Dome opening ceremony, and recalled how his legs were shaking when he attended the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Dome in 1988 — 35 years ago.
The Tokyo Dome was the first of five indoor baseball stadiums built in Japan.
At a banquet on Friday evening, Oh said having a dome could elevate the competitiveness of Taiwan’s baseball and could also help draw more supporters.
He noted the size of the Taipei Dome and its high roof, saying that he now thinks more about the “fan experience” because his job is running a franchise, not playing and coaching.
The 83-year-old legend flew to Taiwan against his doctor’s advice due to health issues.
Koo, who caught Oh’s first pitch, said that he had been worried about Oh’s condition, but that any concerns were dispelled as soon as he saw Oh walking faster than him at the airport.
Calling Oh the “God of Baseball,” Koo said that the legend has never given up his Republic of China nationality, even though he grew up and lived in Japan, adding that Oh is “more than an outstanding athlete, he is a great athlete who has contributed a lot to Japan and Taiwan.”
Oh has left his mark on many of the historic moments in Taiwanese baseball, be it ups and downs.
In 1990, for example, he took to the batter’s box for the ceremonial first pitch in the first-ever game in the CPBL’s inaugural season.
Kylian Mbappe struck from the penalty spot as Real Madrid beat a dogged CA Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday to make a winning start in Spanish La Liga under new coach Xabi Alonso. The France striker, last season’s European Golden Shoe winner, scored early in the second half, after he was fouled in the area by Osasuna defender Juan Cruz. It was enough to seal the points in Alonso’s first game in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Madrid now unbeaten in their opening fixture of a league campaign since 2008. “You can see that Kylian wants to do even more
Spanish champions Barcelona opened their Spanish La Liga campaign on Saturday with an island cruise as they played almost an hour against nine men on their way to a 3-0 victory in RCD Mallorca. Barcelona’s second-half stroll did not please coach Hansi Flick. “They’re three important points, but I didn’t like the match,” he told broadcaster Movistar. “After going two goals up and following Mallorca’s two red cards, I think the team only gave 50 percent, and I didn’t like that,” he said. “Playing at 50 or 60 per cent is not possible against nine players.” Two of Barcelona’s Ballon
Manchester City signaled their intent to take back the English Premier League title as Erling Haaland struck twice in a 4-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday to begin their campaign. After four consecutive titles, City finished a distant third last season as Pep Guardiola’s men failed to win any trophy for the first time in eight years. New signings Tijjani Reijnders, who was the star of the show at Molineux, and Rayan Cherki were also on target to give Guardiola hope his side would be back in the title race this season. “We knew he is a top signing
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the
RSS