South Korea's national baseball team suffered a shutout loss to Japan at the Asian Games.
The squad led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun fell 0-5 to Japan in the opening game of the super round at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture on the 25th at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Japan fielded a roster made up entirely of corporate league players, or amateurs. It was the first time in 20 years that South Korea had lost to a Japanese team composed of corporate league players at the Asian Games, following a 7-10 defeat in the preliminary round at the 2006 Doha Games.
South Korea now stands at one win and one loss in the super round, including its victory over Taiwan in the group stage.
Japan, which advanced to the super round as the winner of Group A after three straight wins, moved to two victories and took a commanding position in the race for the final. If Japan beats Taiwan on the 26th and South Korea defeats China, the Group A runner-up, the two countries will meet again in the final on the 27th for the gold medal.
