Korea’s first-ever Asean championships fall short of WC after Japan, China
South Korea fell just short of qualifying for the World Cup at the inaugural Baseball5 Asia Championship.
South Korea lost to China in the third- and fourth-place finals of the 2nd SA Baseball5 Asia Cup on Saturday at the Baseball5 Special Stadium at Peace Plaza in Seoul Olympic Park. Earlier, the Koreans were swept by Japan in the quarterfinals.
The tournament served as the Asian qualifier for the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball5 World Cup, which will be held in Hong Kong in October. A total of eight countries competed in the tournament, including Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong.
South Korea finished second in Group A with a 2-1 record and advanced to the quarterfinals. They defeated Thailand to reach the semifinals, but lost back-to-back games to Japan and China to finish in fourth place. They did not qualify for the World Cup, which is awarded to the third-place finisher.
Baseball5 is a new sport designed by the WBSC to expand baseball and softball. It’s played with a rubber ball in a 21-meter perimeter field with no equipment. In short, it’s a fist baseball game, and in Korea, it used to be called ‘jjampong’ or ‘jjimpong’.
Unlike baseball, which has very difficult rules, it is a game that is accessible to all ages. If a ball hit with a fist or palm goes over the fence or directly into the outfield, it’s an out. There are no home runs in baseball, which means that power is not as important. “Speed, especially defense, is the deciding factor,” explains an official from the Korea Baseball Softball Association.
In particular, at least two of the five players must be women. The rules are so easy to follow that the sport has been adopted as an official sport at the 2026 Youth Olympic 먹튀검증 Games in Dakar and the 6th Asian Indoor Dance Championships in Thailand and Chonburi. “The WBSC is aiming to make it an official sport at the Summer Olympics,” said Lee Jong-hoon, president of the association.
In line with the global expansion of Baseball5, the association will organize the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the President of the Korean Sports Federation, and the Youth Sports Hanmadang Baseball5 Tournament to promote the sport. It also plans to organize training sessions and experience festivals.
Japan, a baseball powerhouse, won the tournament. The second and third-place finishers, Taiwan and China, qualified for the World Cup. Videos of the tournament can be viewed on Sports TV Now or the Korean Baseball and Softball Association’s YouTube channel.
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