S. Korea to open Asiad baseball three-peat bid vs. Taiwan

In this file photo from Sept. 28, 2014, South Korean national baseball players celebrate their 6-3 victory over Taiwan in the gold medal game at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) — South Korea will open its bid for a third straight Asian Games baseball title against chief rival Taiwan.

The Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) unveiled the schedule for the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games on Thursday. South Korea has been placed in Group B with Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong. Japan, China and Pakistan are in Group A, and they will be joined by the winner of a qualification round featuring Thailand, Sri Lanka and Laos.

The Asian Games go on from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2, and the baseball tournament will run from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1.

South Korea’s first game will be against Taiwan at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 26, followed by Indonesia at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 27 and Hong Kong at noon on Aug. 28. All three games will be played at the baseball field at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Sport Complex in Jakarta.

After the preliminary round, the top two teams from each group will face one another in the super round. The top two nations from the super round will collide in the gold medal game at 4 p.m. on Sept. 1, also at GBK.

South Korea won the past two Asian Games gold medals in baseball, beating Taiwan in both finals. The two may well meet in the gold medal game again this year.

Managed by former pitching legend Sun Dong-yol, the South Korean national team, made up entirely of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) pros, will gather on Aug. 18 for practice in Seoul. The KBO said it hasn’t been determined when the team will depart for Indonesia.