China’s baseball team pulled off a stunning upset over Japan. The result sets up Japan as the first opponent in the Super Round for Liu Zhongilao, who is seeking a fourth straight Asian Games title.

China pulled off the upset with a 1-0 victory over Japan in the third game of Group A at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games Baseball Round 1 at the Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Center 2 on Wednesday (June 3).

With the win, China moved to the top of Group A with three wins, while Japan, with a 2-1 record, moved into the Super Round as Group A’s runner-up.

With the conclusion of the Group A schedule, Ryu Jung-il’s Super Round bracket is complete. Korea will have one day off before facing Japan in the first match of the Super Round at 1 p.m. on May 5, followed by China at 1 p.m. on May 6.

An unexpected twist. It was expected that Japan would beat China to clinch the top spot in Group A.

Even though Japan’s team is comprised of professional baseball players, it was assumed that they would have an objective advantage over China, but unexpectedly, China caught Japan, and the Super Round was played in chaos.

The first-place team in each group comes into the Super Round with one win and the second-place team with one loss. With Japan coming into the Super Round with one loss, 스포츠토토 along with Chinese Taipei, it’s not a bad situation for Korea, which also has one loss.

Meanwhile, Korea’s baseball team defeated Thailand 17-0 in five innings in the third game of Group B earlier in the day.

The Koreans were able to turn the tide after suffering a shocking 0-4 loss to Chinese Taipei the day before. With a 2-1 record, Korea finished second in Group B behind Chinese Taipei (3 wins) and advanced to the Super Round.

After a frustrating performance against Chinese Taipei, the bats came alive against Thailand. Choi Ji-hoon, Yoon Dong-hee, and Kim Joo-won hit home runs, and the bats came alive with a combined 11 hits. Kang Baek-ho, who had gone 0-for-8 in the previous two games, also showed signs of life with a hit, RBI and run scored.