[Asian Games] Today's Matches: Baseball, Women's Handball, Women's Hockey Korea-Japan Rivalry

Baseball National Team Faces Do-or-Die Match Against Japan After Loss to China
Women's Handball Eyes 3rd Consecutive Title with Win Over Japan
Archery Targets Gold in Compound Men's and Women's Team Events

On the 5th, a fierce Korea-Japan rivalry will take place consecutively in baseball, women's handball, and women's hockey.

The baseball national team will play its first Super Round game against Japan at 1 PM. It is essentially a do-or-die match. Both Korea and Japan finished second in their respective group leagues, starting the Super Round with one loss each. The losing team will suffer a second loss, effectively blocking their path to the gold medal match. The Super Round features four teams?Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China?competing, with the top two teams advancing to the gold medal match and the bottom two relegated to the bronze medal match.

Both Korea and Japan need a win to advance to the gold medal match and to restore their bruised pride. Both teams were expected to finish first in their groups, but Korea suffered a shutout loss to Taiwan, and Japan was shut out by China, resulting in the humiliation of finishing second in their groups. Both Korea and Japan are in the same boat, needing to win both Super Round games and then wait for other match results.

The women's handball national team players are celebrating after winning 30-23 against China in the semifinals of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held on the 3rd at the Zhejiang Gongshang University Sports Center in Hangzhou, China.
Photo by Yonhap News

The women's handball national team will face Japan in the final. The match starts at 6 PM. A victory will secure their third consecutive tournament win.

The 2014 Incheon Asian Games women's handball final was also a Korea-Japan match. At that time, Korea defeated Japan 29-19 to claim the gold medal. Conversely, at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, Korea lost to Japan in the semifinals. That loss to Japan dashed Korea women's handball's dream of five consecutive Asian Games titles.

The women's hockey national team will also face Japan at 7:30 PM. This is a semifinal match. If they win, they will play the winner of the China-India match in the gold medal match at 7:30 PM on the 7th.

The archery team, which won one gold and one silver medal in the mixed team event the previous day, aims for their second gold in the compound men's and women's team events.

The compound women's team, consisting of So Chaewon, Oh Yuhyun, and Jo Sua, will play their quarterfinal match against Vietnam at 10:55 AM. If they win, the semifinals and finals will follow immediately. The gold medal match is scheduled for 12:35 PM. The compound men's team, made up of Joo Jaehoon, Yang Jaewon, and Kim Jongho, will play their quarterfinal match against Thailand at 2:30 PM. The gold medal match is at 5:25 PM.

Badminton quarterfinal matches continue. An Se-young will play the women's singles quarterfinal at 10 AM. The mixed doubles pair Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yoo-jung will play their quarterfinal at 10:40 AM. The men's doubles pair Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho and the women's doubles pair Kim So-hee and Gong Hee-yong will start their quarterfinal matches at 11 AM. The women's doubles pair Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee and women's singles player Kim Ga-eun will play their quarterfinal matches at 5 PM.

In wrestling, which failed to secure gold medals on the first day as expected, matches will be held in men's Greco-Roman 97kg and 130kg categories, and women's freestyle 50kg, 53kg, and 57kg categories. Medals are expected from Kim Min-seok in men's Greco-Roman 130kg and Cheon Mi-ran in women's freestyle 50kg. Cheon Mi-ran was the only Korean female athlete to win a bronze medal at the Asian Championships last April. Kim Min-seok won a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships.

Weightlifting representatives Won Jong-beom and Kim Su-hyun will compete in the men's 96kg and women's 76kg categories, respectively. The final matches are scheduled for 4 PM and 8 PM. Both Won Jong-beom and Kim Su-hyun are expected to win medals. Kim Su-hyun won the Jinju Asia Weightlifting Championships in May this year.

Center Park Ji-su of the women's basketball national team is seen expressing regret after losing to Japan in the women's basketball semifinals at the Hangzhou Asian Games held on the 3rd at the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

The women's basketball national team, which was eliminated from the finals after losing to Japan on the 4th, will play the bronze medal match against North Korea at 5 PM.

The women's volleyball national team will play their second quarterfinal round match against North Korea at 3:30 PM. The women's volleyball team was already eliminated from the semifinals after losing to China in the first quarterfinal round match the previous day. They started the quarterfinal round with one loss after finishing second in the group league and then lost to China, marking their second loss. The quarterfinal round consists of eight teams divided into two groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. In Korea's group, China and Vietnam have secured their semifinal spots with two wins each.

The men's and women's marathon races will start at 8 AM.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.