Taiwan stuns Japan in Premier 12 finals

[Anchor]

In the Premier 12 finals, Taiwan defeated Japan, which had been on a 27-game winning streak in international competitions, achieving a historic first major international tournament victory.

With the growth of Taiwanese baseball, Korean baseball, which has vowed to regain its international competitiveness, now faces a greater challenge.

This is a report by reporter Lee Mu-hyung.

[Report]

Everyone expected a decisive victory for Japan, but the result was the exact opposite.

Taiwan, with four pitchers including starter Lin Yu-min, completely shut down the Japanese batting lineup and even hit two home runs, achieving a truly perfect victory.

The Taiwanese players, who defeated Japan for the first time in 32 years to win their first major international tournament, shed tears of joy.

[Tseng Hao-chu/Taiwan Baseball Team Manager: "Japan is strong and still ranked number one in the world. However, I emphasized to the players that we have also gotten closer and are very near."]

Taiwanese citizens were swept up in a festive atmosphere, with even plans to escort the team’s return flight with fighter jets being proposed.

On the other hand, Japan, which suffered a crushing defeat at the Tokyo Dome, the "heart of Japanese baseball," was in shock.

Along with criticism directed at manager Ibata for ending the 27-game winning streak in international competitions, there was also a change in perspective regarding the growth of Taiwanese baseball, as Ohtani sent a congratulatory message to Taiwan on social media after the game.

[Narumi Seino/Japanese Baseball Fan: "Taiwan was really strong. I was truly surprised. Japan also needs to work harder, and I think I need to cheer even more diligently."]

The growth of Taiwan, which won with an average age of 24.6 years, the youngest among the participating countries, poses a significant threat to our national team.

Historically, in matchups involving professional players, Korea still leads with 27 wins and 16 losses, but in recent games with a larger proportion of younger players, Korea has fallen behind Taiwan with 2 wins and 4 losses.

With the World Baseball Classic (WBC) coming up in two years, the alert for Taiwan has been raised, and it remains to be seen whether Taiwan's remarkable growth can serve as a catalyst for the recovery of our international competitiveness.

This is KBS News, Lee Mu-hyung.