Kwak Bin holds firm, Kim Do-young delivers as South Korea wins fifth straight Asian Games baseball gold

Kwak Bin pitches 6⅓ innings with 9 strikeouts, allowing 1 run

Kim Do-young's go-ahead hit in 8th, Moon Bo-kyung adds insurance

Korea avenges Super Round loss to Japan, claims 7th all-time gold

South Korean players celebrate with the national flag after defeating Japan 3-1 in the baseball final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

South Korea's baseball team claimed its fifth consecutive Asian Games gold medal Sunday, riding a dominant outing from ace Kwak Bin and a clutch go-ahead hit from Kim Do-young to defeat rival Japan.

The South Korean national team, managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, beat Japan 3-1 in the final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Korea had been shut out 0-5 by Japan in the Super Round but exacted revenge on the biggest stage to take the gold. The victory extended the country's streak of Asian Games titles to five, following wins at the 2010 Guangzhou, 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games. Including the 1998 Bangkok and 2002 Busan editions, it is South Korea's seventh Asian Games gold medal in baseball overall.

Starter Kwak Bin laid the foundation for the win. He threw 111 pitches over 6⅓ innings, allowing just four hits, two walks and one run while striking out nine, keeping Japan's lineup in check throughout. Even as heavy rain fell, Kwak overpowered Japanese batters with fastballs in the 150-kilometer-per-hour range, mixing in curveballs and changeups.

Kwak had already impressed in his tournament debut against Taiwan, throwing six hitless innings with 10 strikeouts and two walks allowed. He delivered again when it mattered most in the gold-medal game against Japan.

South Korean starter Kwak Bin pitches in the bottom of the seventh inning of the baseball final against Japan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Korea broke the deadlock in the top of the second inning. Leadoff batter Yun Dong-hui reached on a double over the right fielder, and Moon Hyun-bin followed with an RBI single to left to put Korea ahead. The team loaded the bases with one out, but Park Jun-sun struck out swinging and Kim Do-young flied out to left, leaving the runners stranded.

While the offense struggled to pull away, Kwak held firm on the mound. He did not allow a single hit until Mizutani Shohei led off the fifth inning with a double — the first hit Kwak had surrendered in the entire tournament, including the Taiwan game.

Even with a runner on second and nobody out, Kwak did not waver. He struck out the next batter, then retired the following two on a foul pop to shortstop and a flyout to center, preserving the shutout.

The offense remained the concern. Korea squandered a no-out, first-and-second situation in the third inning, and in the sixth a leadoff baserunner went to waste after a failed bunt attempt killed the rally. In the seventh, Park Jun-sun singled, Moon Bo-kyung drew a walk and Yun Dong-hui was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Korea again failed to score. Opportunities kept coming; runners kept being left on base.

Kwak, who had protected a precarious 1-0 lead, finally surrendered a run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out and runners on first and second, he gave up a single to left by Sato Yuki. Left fielder Moon Hyun-bin threw home, but Japan's runner from second scored to tie the game at 1-1.

After Kwak left the mound, Jo Byung-hyun put out the fire. Facing continued danger, he struck out two consecutive batters to prevent Japan from taking the lead.

Kim Do-young roars after hitting a go-ahead single with two outs and runners on the corners in the top of the eighth inning of the baseball final against Japan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Korea's offense finally answered in the top of the eighth. Kim Ji-chan doubled and Cho Hyung-woo moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt. Kim Ju-won drew a walk, and a rundown play on Jeong Jun-jae's grounder to third briefly threatened to snuff out the rally — but with two outs and runners on the corners, Kim Do-young stepped up.

Kim pulled the second pitch hard toward the Japanese third baseman. The ball was hit so sharply that the fielder could not handle it, and it went for an infield single. Runner Kim Ju-won scored from third to put Korea back in front 2-1. Kim pumped his fist and roared toward the dugout in celebration.

Kim had struggled to find his hitting rhythm throughout the tournament but delivered the decisive blow at the moment the gold medal hung in the balance. Moon Bo-kyung then added an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1.

Park Young-hyun closed it out. In the bottom of the eighth, with one out and runners on the corners, he struck out Japan's cleanup hitter Aizawa Ryosuke on a full count, then retired the next batter to end the inning.

South Korean pitcher Park Young-hyun delivers in the bottom of the eighth inning of the baseball final against Japan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Danger resurfaced in the ninth. Park allowed a walk and a hit after two outs, putting the tying run on base, but he did not buckle. He ended the game by striking out the final batter, Kumada Toyo, on three pitches.

The moment the last fastball crossed the strike zone, the South Korean players sprinted onto the field in unison. Having avenged their lopsided Super Round defeat to Japan on the most important stage of all, Korea completed a fifth consecutive Asian Games championship.

yjc@heraldcorp.com