"We promise to go undefeated in all five games."

At a press conference on September 15, manager Ryu Joong-il of the Korean national baseball team expressed his firm determination that the team will go undefeated in all five possible baseball games at the Incheon Asian Games that will kick off later this week.

"I always become very emotional whenever I wear the national team uniform," said Ryu. "I wore it several times as a player, but this is only my second time wearing it as a manager," he said. "As a manager, I felt sorry to our many baseball fans about our elimination from the preliminary rounds at the World Baseball Classic last year. This time, however, I will do my best to get the five wins needed to secure the gold medal."

Each of the eight nations fielding a baseball team in this year's Asian Games plays three preliminary games and then has the potential to play in a semi-finals match and the final match.

Ryu added that, "The top priority at our training session after the press conference is for the players to get in good condition and to check for injuries. Our warm-up match against the LG Twins will be an opportunity to check the pitching strength of the team."


Captain Park Byung-ho said, "It's an honor to be captain of the team, a team which consists of the best Korean players out there. We will do our best to win the gold medal for which we and the whole country are waiting."


Team ace Kim Kwang-hyun showed his confidence and his trust in his team mates during the press conference, saying that, "The team is made up of great players. I will do all I can and leave the mound for the next player."


Korea is scheduled to have its first match against Thailand on September 22, after preliminary qualifications on September 18. It will then face Chinese Taipei on September 24 and Hong Kong on September 25. The final match is on September 28.

By Jeon Han, Lee Seung-ah
photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
hanjeon@korea.kr