A huge hit, even mentioning the names of 'Seong Dong-yeol and Choi Dong-won': "He will become a national treasure-level ace pitcher. I am endlessly happy and proud that Korea has won." The head coach also gave a thumbs-up!

*This content was translated by AI.

Jung Yoon-jin (Deoksu High School), who led the South Korean U-18 team to reclaim the title at the Asian Youth Baseball Championship for the first time in eight years, shared his thoughts on the victory.

In particular, Coach Jung praised Ha Hyun-seung (Busan High School), the hero of the shutout win in the final match, saying, "He has the potential to become a national treasure-level pitcher like Seong Dong-yeol and Choi Dong-won," without holding back his praise.

The South Korean U-18 baseball team, which participated in the 14th Asian Youth Baseball Championship, defeated their long-time rival Japan 2-0 in the final match held at Taipei Dome on the 13th, thanks to Ha Hyun-seung's outstanding shutout performance, securing the championship.

With this victory, South Korea claimed its sixth title overall and first in eight years in this tournament.

In this tournament, South Korea started off on a high note by defeating Taiwan, a tough opponent, in their opening group stage match. They then faced Japan twice, once in the super round and again in the final, winning both matches to achieve an undefeated championship.

After the game, Coach Jung said, "First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Korea Baseball Association Yang Hui-yeong (Chairman) and its staff for helping us perform well at this tournament. With Manager Song Byung-jun taking charge as team manager, he has provided both financial and emotional support to our players from the sidelines, which I believe contributed to our good results. Above all, I am truly grateful to our four coaches. I want to convey my infinite gratitude and appreciation to our players who followed our coaching staff well for about three weeks."

He continued, "I told the media that we wanted to show that Korean amateur baseball is not rusty, but after saying that, I actually wondered if it was possible. Now that we have achieved this and kept our word, I am truly happy and proud. I believe that our amateur baseball coaches at high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools, as well as the players themselves, still have the potential to rank first in Asia and possess competitiveness. Therefore, I think their future is bright."

When asked about which game among the three matches against Taiwan and Japan brought him the most joy, Coach Jung said, "All three games were joyful and happy. I think the happiest moment was when we defeated Taiwan on their home turf in the first game. We also beat our long-time rival Japan in the second match. This time, we secured two consecutive shutout victories, including the final match. I am endlessly happy and proud."

He added to the players, "There is no time for proper words right now, but I want to say thank you for following a poor coach like me so well. There was not even one player left behind, nor any major injuries, so I am truly grateful to these players. I really want to express my gratitude for creating such wonderful memories. Spending three weeks sharing joys and sorrows with such excellent players will likely become the most significant memory of my life."

South Korea's starting pitcher Ha Hyun-seung completed his mission by striking out eight batters over seven innings. He allowed only one hit and two walks. In just a week, he took the mound three times without conceding a single run. His final statistics for this tournament were 3 wins (undefeated), 15⅔ innings pitched, and 25 strikeouts — earning him the title "Mr. Zero."

Regarding the scene where Ha Hyun-seung was brought in during the seventh inning of the final match, Coach Jung revealed, "I received a report from our pitching coach that Ha wanted to continue pitching in the seventh inning. Actually, we had planned for him to pitch only until around the fourth inning. However, since his pitch count was very low and he insisted on continuing, we let him keep throwing."

He further added, "Also, last night (the 12th), he told us that he wanted to start in tomorrow's final match (on the 13th). I was surprised by that. I told him, 'Then go ahead.' As expected, Ha Hyun-seung will likely become a national treasure-level ace pitcher like Seong Dong-yeol and Choi Dong-won for our country in the future," giving him a thumbs-up.

The Lee Je (CEO) team players are now knocking on the doors of professional baseball. He said, "Once again, Yang Hae-yeong (Chairman) specially invited a well-known Japanese trainer named Takahashi. I believe we spent about ten days together in Busan with him. He shared various useful mechanisms and training methods with our players before returning. In particular, he taught us injury prevention techniques. We hope the players can play without injuries. Preventing injuries is crucial. I hope they manage this well even after entering professional baseball. I truly believe that playing baseball without injuries is the most important thing," expressing his hopes for the future.

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*This content was translated by AI.