A New Generation Takes the Field
South Korea’s national baseball team will open a week‑long training camp in Nagoya on September 14, just days before the 2026 Asian Games tournament kicks off on September 21.
Under the guidance of manager Ryu Ji-hyun, the squad—composed entirely of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) players—will travel to Japan’s Aichi prefecture to fine‑tune strategies ahead of the group stage.
The Asian Games competition runs from September 21 to 27 and will be staged at two venues in central Japan: Okazaki Central Park Baseball Stadium and Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium.
Korea enters Group B alongside Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Thailand, with its opening match against Chinese Taipei scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on September 21.
The objective is clear: secure a fifth straight gold medal, a feat that would trigger the military service exemption for all players who complete their duty.
In response to past criticism over the selection of older athletes for those exemptions, the KBO has deliberately chosen 21 players under the age of 25, supplemented by three wildcard entries aged 25 to 29.
Coach Ryu Ji-hyun, who recently scouted the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, plans to travel to Tokyo to watch potential candidates bound for the Games, underscoring a data‑driven approach to finalizing the roster.
Japan’s Semipro Strategy
Historically, Japan fields semipro players rather than its top‑tier Nippon Professional Baseball stars at the Asian Games, a policy that yielded only a single gold medal when the country hosted in 1994.