"It Wasn't Wang Yan-cheng"—Taiwan Stuns with Unknown 20-Year-Old as Starter; South Korea Sends Gwak Been [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] Taiwan, South Korea's first opponent as it seeks a fifth consecutive Asian Games baseball title, caught the Korean team off guard by naming unknown 20-year-old amateur pitcher Lin Yi-wei as its surprise starter instead of Wang Yan-cheng of the Hanwha Eagles, who had been widely expected to take the mound.
According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), South Korea's national baseball team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun, has announced Gwak Been as its starting pitcher for the game against Taiwan at 6:30 p.m. on the 21st. The Group B round-robin opener of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be held at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Taiwan, meanwhile, will send right-handed orthodox pitcher Lin Yi-wei of Taiwan Cooperative Bank to the mound.
The game against Taiwan is regarded as the biggest test that could determine whether South Korea wins a fifth straight Asian Games title and reaches the final. After ace Gulin Ruiyang was ruled out with an injury, Taiwanese media and baseball officials had initially treated Wang Yan-cheng's start as a foregone conclusion. Wang joined the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League this season through the Asian quota and has posted 11 wins with a 3.97 ERA. His familiarity with Korean hitters was considered his biggest advantage.
However, Taiwan's bench completely overturned those expectations by selecting Lin Yi-wei, who has no professional experience. Lin was not selected in Taiwan's professional baseball draft in 2024 and joined the industrial-league team Taiwan Cooperative Bank. He is a thoroughly obscure "hidden card" about whom Korean hitters have almost no information.
Taiwan's unconventional selection is understood as a strategy to minimize exposure by using an unfamiliar pitcher and gain an advantage in the information battle. Taiwan employed a surprise starter from an industrial-league team, Wu Sheng-feng, against South Korea in the opening game of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and went on to win.

South Korea is taking the conventional approach. Manager Ryu Ji-hyun has promised an all-out effort involving the entire pitching staff and entrusted the first game to ace Gwak Been, who has the most international tournament experience on the team and the best stuff. Gwak has appeared in 26 KBO League games this season, throwing 155 innings and posting an 11-7 record, a 2.26 ERA, and 186 strikeouts. He is a top-tier starter currently leading two categories by a wide margin.
Lee Soon-chul, a Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) commentator, said, "Ultimately, the outcome against Taiwan will depend on how many runs our hitters can score." He added, "It will be extremely important which player Ryu Ji-hyun uses as the leadoff hitter and where he places KIM Do-young, who hits with consistency regardless of the type of pitcher."

[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter