# Baseball at the 2026 Asian Games
**Baseball at the 2026 Asian Games** was the men's baseball tournament of the 20th [Asian Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/asian-games), held from 21 to 27 September 2026 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium and Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in [Aichi Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/aichi-prefecture), Japan. Eight national teams competed, and South Korea won the gold medal, defeating Japan 3-1 in the final.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) • [2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21-27 September 2026[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) |
| Venues | Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium; Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) |
| Teams | Eight, in two round-robin groups[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) |
| Gold-medal final | Korea 3, Japan 1, on 27 September at Toyohashi[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) |
| Medalists | Gold Korea, silver Japan, bronze Chinese Taipei[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) |
| Korea's streak | Fifth consecutive Asian Games title and seventh overall[2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html) |
| Roster contrast | Korea fielded players entirely from its professional league; Japan's squad came solely from the semipro corporate league[2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html) |
## Background
Baseball became an official Asian Games medal sport at [Hiroshima](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiroshima) 1994, the first edition in which the sport awarded medals.[3](https://japan.co.jp/e/reports/samurai-japan-asian-games-baseball-32-year-gold-2026.html) The tournament is governed within the Games by the Olympic Council of Asia, with technical rules drawn from the [WBSC](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-baseball-softball-confederation) and the Baseball Federation of Asia.[4](https://oca.asia/sports/info/111/66/)
Japan entered the 2026 tournament chasing a gold medal it had not won in 32 years. At Hangzhou 2023, Japan lost 1-0 to China in the opening stage, struggled to score in the super round against Korea and [Chinese Taipei](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-taipei), and finished with bronze after beating China 4-3 in the third-place game.[3](https://japan.co.jp/e/reports/samurai-japan-asian-games-baseball-32-year-gold-2026.html) Japan's 2026 squad was managed by Kawaguchi Tomoyasu and drawn from the amateur ranks.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) • [2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html)
## Format and teams
The eight teams were split into two groups for an opening round robin. [Group A](https://www.edgepedia.org/group-a) contained Japan, China, the Philippines, and Palestine; [Group B](https://www.edgepedia.org/group-b) contained Chinese Taipei, Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) The top two teams from each group advanced to a super round, while the remaining teams played a placement round; the super round led to a third-place game and the final.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html)
## Opening round
Japan won Group A with a 3-0 record, beating China 11-3, Palestine 15-0, and the Philippines 7-0; China finished second at 2-1, ahead of the Philippines (1-2) and Palestine (0-3).[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html) Korea topped Group B, also at 3-0, defeating Chinese Taipei 5-0, Hong Kong 13-0, and Thailand 18-1; Chinese Taipei took second place at 2-1, with Thailand (1-2) and Hong Kong (0-3) behind.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html)
## Super round and medal games
The super round produced an upset of the expected final order. Japan beat Korea 5-0 on 25 September at [Toyohashi](https://www.edgepedia.org/toyohashi) and went on to defeat Chinese Taipei 7-3, finishing the super round at 3-0, while Korea went 2-1 after also beating China 9-2.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html)
In the final on 27 September at Toyohashi, Korea reversed the super-round result, beating Japan 3-1. Park Yeonghyun, pitching in relief for Korea, ended the contest on a called third strike against pinch-hitter Masato Shibasaki, who came to the plate representing the run that would have tied or won it for Japan; the victory was Korea's fifth consecutive Asian Games championship in baseball and its seventh in all.[2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html) The Korean team was made up entirely of players from the country's professional league, which did not take a break for the Asian Games, while Japan's roster was filled with players solely from the semipro corporate league.[2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html)
Playing for bronze at Okazaki, Chinese Taipei beat China 5-1 behind Lin Yu-Min, who gave up a single hit across eight shutout frames while fanning 10 batters.[2](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html)
## Final standings
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Korea |
| 2 | Japan |
| 3 | Chinese Taipei |
| 4 | China |
| 5 | Philippines |
| 6 | Thailand |
| 7 | Palestine |
| 8 | Hong Kong |
The placement round determined positions five through eight: the Philippines and Thailand finished at 2-1, with Hong Kong and Palestine at 1-2.[1](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html)
## Context within the Games
The baseball tournament ran within the 16-day Games, which opened officially on 19 September 2026 in Nagoya and featured 43 sports contested by 45 countries and regions.[5](https://apnews.com/article/a6273d8dbcd8cb86f8b9873acfc240b9) The men's baseball final was scheduled for the morning of 27 September, the closing stretch of the program.[6](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/sport/asian-games-2026-free) A women's softball competition was also part of the baseball-softball program at Aichi-Nagoya.[7](https://asiasoftball.com/download/documents/Calendar.pdf)
## References
1. [2026 20th Asian Games Games & Tournament Details, Official Site of the Japan National Baseball Team](https://www.japan-baseball.jp/en/team/amateur/2026/asiangames/overview.html)
2. [Korea edges Japan in gold-medal showdown between Asian baseball powers, Olympic Council of Asia](https://oca.asia/news/8076-korea-edges-japan-in-gold-medal-showdown-between-asian-baseball-powers.html)
3. [Samurai Japan Chases a Baseball Gold It Hasn't Won in 32 Years, Japan.co.jp](https://japan.co.jp/e/reports/samurai-japan-asian-games-baseball-32-year-gold-2026.html)
4. [Baseball, Olympic Council of Asia](https://oca.asia/sports/info/111/66/)
5. [The Asian Games are open with more athletes than the Summer Olympics and some unfamiliar sports, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/a6273d8dbcd8cb86f8b9873acfc240b9)
6. [How to watch Asian Games 2026: FREE live streams, TV channels, schedule, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/sport/asian-games-2026-free)
7. [Softball Asia Calendar for 2025-2026](https://asiasoftball.com/download/documents/Calendar.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › International baseball › Baseball at multi-sport games*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license