Medal-round action of the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship will kick off this afternoon at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium with Taiwan taking on South Korea.
With the right to represent Asia in what could be the final Olympic baseball competition in next year's games in Beijing at stake and South Korean looking to avenge a loss against Taiwan in 2003 that sent Taiwan to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, both squads will certainly give their all to win the all-important opening match.
Leading this year's best-and-bright for the hosts is head coach Kuo Tai-yuan whose gutsy 17-inning outing over a two-game span to beat South Korea and Japan on the same day in the 1983 Asian Baseball Championship will likely remain unmatched forever.
"With the addition of Tsao Chin-hui and Huang Jung-chung, our bullpen has gotten a big boost which wasn't there earlier," Kuo said, referring to the addition of current major-leaguer Tsao (Los Angeles Dodgers) and top La New Bears closer Huang.
They will hope to provide some stability to an overworked bullpen that faltered on several occasions in a disappointing effort during the World Cup last month.
Also bringing his big-league credentials to leadoff for Taiwan will be Hu Chin-long (also of the LA Dodgers), whose fierce hitting and impeccable defensive play at second base will undoubtedly give Taiwan the speed and power that it longs for.
Likely to take the mound for Taiwan in this afternoon's contest will be right-hander Lin En-yu, who pitched well in all three of his games during the World Cup and has benefited from the two-week long break that gave his arm some much needed rest.
"It [the choice of starting pitcher] could be a game-day decision depending on who is most ready," Kuo said.
Should Lin be scratched from the lineup, the burden will probably fall on veteran righty Yang Jien-fu of the Sinon Bulls, who also pitched well during the World Cup last month.
Regardless of the starting pitcher, Taiwan will have their hands full against a strong South Korean outfit that features top lefty Jun Byung-ho (Samsung Lions) and a pair of major-league right-handers in Ryu Jae-kuk (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and Park Chan-ho (New York Mets).
Backing up Hu with their big bats for Taiwan will be Chen Chin-fong (La New Bears), Chang Tai-shan (Bulls) and Kao Guo-ching (President Lions).
Following today's game, Taiwan will take on the Philippines -- winners of the preliminary competition -- tomorrow afternoon before finishing out the three-game series in the finale against Japan on Monday.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS