Cha Myung-joo, director of the Korea Baseball Softball Association, from the ‘first hold king’, left the country on the 6th to lead the Baseball 5 team in the ‘2023 Youth (U18) Baseball 5 Asia Cup’.
Coach Cha Myung-joo served as the team commander for the ‘2023 Youth (U18) Baseball 5 Asia Cup’ held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the 8th to the 11th. It is the second international tournament after the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Baseball 5 World Cup team held in Mexico last November.
This tournament is the first age-specific tournament for baseball 5 events to be held in Asia. A total of seven countries will participate, and Korea will compete to win the Asian Cup along with host country Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and Singapore.
On the 8th at 11:45 am (Korean time), Korea will play the first round of preliminary matches against the host nation, Malaysia. On the same day, at 3:30 pm, India will play the second leg of the qualifier. At 10:30 am on the 9th, the 3rd round of the preliminary round against Taiwan, the winner of the 2022 Baseball 5 Asia Cup, will be played, and the 4th round of the preliminary round will be played against China at 2:15 pm on the same day. The 5th match against Hong Kong at 10:30 am on the 10th and the 6th match against Singapore at 3:30 pm on the same day are scheduled.
The Super Round and the Final Round will be held on the 11th based on the preliminary round results.
This tournament serves as an Asian qualifier for the ‘2023 WBSC Youth (U18) Baseball 5 World Cup’, and the top three teams, including the winning team, are given the right to participate in the World Cup.
Baseball 5 is a new sport that is played as a 5-inning baseball game by forming a team of 5 people using a rubber ball in a space of 18m in all directions with a so-called ‘fist baseball’. It consists of a mixed team of four men and women, and is a sport with great potential to develop into an official event in the future Olympic Games, such as being adopted as an official event in the Dakar Youth Olympics in 2026. 안전놀이터
The association held a representative selection match at Songgok High School Gymnasium in Seoul on the 28th of last month to spread and revitalize Baseball 5 and win the Asian Cup, and formed a roster of 8 players (4 males and 4 each) to compete in the Asian Cup.
The players newly selected for the national team completed strengthening training from the 2nd to the 6th. He quenched himself to win the Asian Cup through analysis of power and video, establishment of various tactics, and personal training.
Coach Cha Myung-joo is working tirelessly to foster youth and expand the distribution of baseball.
Director Cha Myung-joo, who was on his way to departure after finishing the 2023 KBO Next Level Training Captain Camp, laughed, saying, “When I return to Korea on the 12th, I have to join the 2nd Next Level Camp held in Seogwipo right away. I don’t think there will be a day off for about 40 days.” . Coach Cha said, “During the strengthening training period, all the players prepared hard and worked together. I will do my best so that my efforts can bear fruit in the Asia Cup.” He continued, “Baseball 5 is a new sport that is free of time, space, and equipment constraints and is based on gender equality.