Ryu Ji-hyun-led team vows to confront Taiwan's 'blindside ploy' head-on with ace Kwak Bin... Fateful Game 1 today [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News]  Ryu Ji-hyun's first choice in the bid for a fifth consecutive Asian Games baseball title was, as expected, the 'undisputed ace' Kwak Bin of the Doosan Bears. The right-handed power pitcher will take the mound as the starter in Group B's opening game against Taiwan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, carrying the fate of the South Korea national baseball team on his shoulders.
The baseball team led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun will play its first group-stage game against Taiwan at 6:30 p.m. on the 21st at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. On the 20th, Ryu officially announced that Kwak Bin would start after completing a warm-up indoor bullpen session on the 19th.
Kwak Bin has displayed dominant stuff in the regular-season KBO League this year, posting a 2.26 ERA and 186 strikeouts, both league highs. He is currently the most reliable and formidable starting option on South Korea's pitching staff. Ryu judged the game against Taiwan to be the tournament's biggest turning point in the bid for a fifth straight title and announced an all-out effort, with Kwak at the forefront and every available pitcher ready to be deployed.

Taiwan, meanwhile, has pulled out an awkward 'unorthodox strategy.' It kept major left-handed pitchers such as Wang Yan-cheng of the Hanwha Eagles, who had initially been considered a likely starter, and Lin Yu-Min of the U.S. minor leagues in reserve. Instead, it will start 20-year-old right-handed prospect Lin Yi-wei of the Taiwanese industrial-league club Hapjak Geumgo. The move is seen as a calculated attempt to confuse South Korea's lineup by using an unknown pitcher whose capabilities have been kept completely under wraps. Taiwan also reaped considerable rewards from a similar tactic at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, when it unexpectedly started an industrial-league pitcher against South Korea in the opening game.
Ultimately, the outcome will hinge on the explosiveness of South Korea's lineup and whether it can neutralize Taiwan's ploy. Lee Soon-chul, a Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) commentator, noted, "In the end, the key is how many runs our hitters can produce early against Taiwan's pitching," adding, "It will be crucial to the outcome who manager Ryu Ji-hyun selects as the leadoff hitter and where he places KIM Do-young in the batting order, given his ability to maintain a steady hitting touch against pitchers of all types."
The game against Taiwan will be the toughest hurdle on the road to the gold medal. Baseball fans are turning their eyes to Okazaki tonight to see how the bats of Ryu Ji-hyun's team will crush Taiwan's flimsy calculation built around a young pitcher with no available data.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter