Kim Joo-won's impression of emotion, "Thanks to the enthusiastic support of the fans, there is no away feeling at all → Finger condition is okay."

*This content was translated by AI.

South Korea's national baseball team's "key infielder" Kim Joo-won (24, NC Dinos) expressed his gratitude for the fans' support and confidence in his current physical condition ahead of the "decision of fate" match against Taiwan.

The Korean baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun (55), will play against Taiwan in the third Group C match of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan, at 12 p.m. on the 8th.

Kim Joo-won, who will start as the seventh batter and shortstop, attended a pre-press conference before the game and said, "It's true that it feels like an away game because I'm playing in an unfamiliar stadium in another country," and added, "Korean fans came to support me too much against Japan the previous day (5th). "Thanks to the fans, I am playing with so much strength that it does not feel like an away game," he said, adding a touching feeling.

Kim Joo-won made a timely hit in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and runners on the first and second bases when he was trailing 5-8 against Japan on the 6th. He has recorded a batting average of 0.333 in two WBC games and has been performing well. He is also showing a sense of stability without making a big mistake in defense.

He also spoke directly about the finger injury that fans were most concerned about. After pointing out that there was a finger injury during Okinawa training, Kim Joo-won said, "The injury was not as severe as I thought, and I thought I could recover until I came over to Osaka. "Thanks to your good treatment in the training part, I've recovered so much that I don't have any trouble playing now," he said, stressing that his current condition is at its best.

Leaving behind the disappointment of losing the match against Japan, Kim Joo-won is focusing on the match against Taiwan. "We had a good game against Japan yesterday. Although we lost the result, we prepared for today's game with confidence because the players did their best," he stressed.

In particular, considering that Taiwan's starter is a right-handed pitcher today, he will enter the left at-bat to take advantage of the switch heater's advantage. He also said, "Even if a pitcher is replaced in the middle of the game, we will play between right and left at-bats depending on the type of pitcher."

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*This content was translated by AI.