Coach Ryu Joong-il, who led Korea to the gold medal in baseball at the Hangzhou Asian Games, will take the helm of the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).
On the 18th, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced, “Coach Ryu Joong-il has been appointed as the head coach of the APBC 2023 national team, which will be held at Tokyo Dome in Japan for four days from the 16th to the 19th of next month.”먹튀검증
APBC, which is in its second year since 2017, includes Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia. After four teams play the full league, the top two teams advance to the finals and compete for the championship.
Korea took second place in the first competition. APBC’s competition regulations limit players to those under the age of 24 or within their third year as a professional.
Coach Ryu Joong-il formed a national team centered on players under 25 years old and players who have been with the team for four years or less at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which ended earlier this month, and won the tournament for the fourth time in a row. Following the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, he led Korean baseball to gold medals twice.
KBO explained, “Coach Ryu Joong-il took the first successful step toward a generational change in the national team by leading the team to victory at the Asian Games,” and added, “We judged it appropriate to appoint coach Ryu Joong-il in terms of continuity with the Asian Games.”
The 26 players who will participate in APBC will be announced at an official press conference held in Tokyo, Japan on the 24th. Coach Ryu, as well as coaches from the four countries participating in the competition, including Japan, Taiwan, and Australia, will all attend this event. The coaching staff that will assist coach Ryu Joong-il will also be announced soon.
Coach Ryu Joong-il said through News 1, “Unlike the Asian Games, the APBC is not without pressure because professional athletes participate.”
At the same time, coach Ryu Joong-il said, “I think the APBC national team should also be composed of members similar to those in the Asian Games. We will make entries in line with the 2026 WBC and 2028 LA Olympics. Rather than winning, we will focus on helping young players gain international experience and grow.” “I will focus,” he said.