[Official Announcement] Ryu Ji-hyun-ho, AG 金 Possibility UP! 'Kwak Bin's Friend' Taiwan Ace Withdraws Due to Injury → Wang Yencheng Final Selection

*This content was translated by AI.

A major boost has come for Ryu Ji-hyun-ho, who aims to win gold in baseball at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. One of Taiwan's "one-two punch" players and a familiar face to domestic fans, Lin Rui-liang (26, Nippon-Ham Fighters), has been knocked out due to injury.

According to multiple Taiwanese media outlets including TTV, the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) officially announced the final 24-man roster for the Asian Games on the 7th. The most notable point in this list is the exclusion of Lin Rui-liang, Taiwan's undisputed ace.

Reports indicate that Lin Rui-liang suffered a left abdominal muscle injury during recent training and decided to withdraw. As a replacement, right-handed pitcher Huang Chung-shiang, who plays for a Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the minor leagues, was urgently called up. However, losing a reliable "first starter" is considered a painful loss of strength for Taiwan.

Lin Rui-liang earned the familiar nickname "Kwak Bin's Friend" among Korean fans due to his close friendship with Doosan Bears' Kwak Bin, but on the field, he has always been a nightmare-inducing rival for the Korean lineup. His pitching performance during the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Round 1 Group C matchup at Tokyo Dome last March left a deep impression on the Korean baseball community.

Starting against South Korea, Lin Rui-liang showcased nearly perfect scoreless pitching through four innings, leading with heavy fastballs clocked in the mid-to-late 150 km/h range. He was pulled down in the bottom of the fifth inning with no outs and runners on first and third. Later, left-handed pitcher Lin Wei-yan (affiliated with Oakland Athletics) induced a double play by Shae Whitcomb, but the runner from third base scored at home plate, increasing his earned run total.

Lin Rui-liang's final stats for that game were 4 innings pitched, 1 hit allowed, 1 strikeout, and 1 earned run. Ultimately, Taiwan leveraged Lin Rui-liang's dazzling performance to defeat South Korea 5-4 in a tense extra-inning battle. For Ryu Ji-hyun-ho, the top-ranked opponent who had blocked international revenge has now stepped down from the mound.

However, complacency is not an option. Taiwan still boasts formidable pitching resources. Left-handed pitcher Lin Wei-min, affiliated with Arizona in Major League Baseball, remains on the roster. Additionally, Wang Yencheng, a left-handed pitcher who has been part of Hanwha Eagles' starting rotation in the KBO League since this season, has officially joined to lead the starting lineup. Wang Yencheng's integration is challenging as he thoroughly understands the characteristics of Korean batters.

In addition, Taiwan includes formidable overseas players such as Pan Yuan-hui (Philadelphia), Chen Chien-wei (Lamigo Monkeys), and Liu Zhi-hong (Wei-Chuan Dragons), along with veterans from professional and amateur leagues. Also joining is Liu Zhu-long, well known as "Kang Baek-ho's Friend." Two players are active in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and three are affiliated with Major League Baseball teams in the U.S. The overseas contingent totals six players including Wang Yencheng, while five players belong to the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The remaining 12 players are from Taiwan's social baseball league.

With Lin Rui-liang, once the most reliable weapon that could decide short-term games, now withdrawn, Ryu Ji-hyun-ho has gained a clear breathing room in mound calculations. However, it remains to be seen whether Ryu Ji-hyun-ho can overcome new challenges posed by Lin Wei-min and Wang Yencheng and seize Taiwan's loss of strength as an opportunity to reach the summit of the Asian Games.

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*This content was translated by AI.