South Korea will meet Japan in the Asian Games baseball final on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. local time in Toyohashi, about 85 kilometres southeast of Nagoya. Ryu Ji-hyun’s team is seeking its fifth consecutive gold medal in the event.
South Korea won all three preliminary games, but Japan opened the Super Round with a 5–0 victory on Friday. The Koreans responded on Saturday with a 9–2 win over China, booking their place in the final. Japan advanced after beating Chinese Taipei 7–3 and will now try to defeat South Korea for a second consecutive game.
The two countries will also meet for gold in women’s handball on Sunday. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Entrio in Inazawa. The tournament has no knockout stage: medals are decided by the round-robin standings. Both teams enter their final match with five wins from five games.
Women’s handball joined the Asian Games programme in 1990. South Korea won the first five titles in succession and six of the first seven, but lost the 2023 final to Japan 29–19.
In athletics, South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok will pursue his first Asian Games title. The two-time silver medallist missed about three months after a foot injury in May and has not approached his season best of 2.30 metres since returning in August.