Taiwanese Baseball Association Requests Star Pitcher Wang Yen-Cheng for Asian Games

The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association has formally reached out to the Hanwha Eagles, Wang Yen-Cheng's South Korean professional team, to request his participation in the upcoming Asian Games. The 25-year-old left-handed pitcher has been a standout performer in the Korea Baseball Organization this season.

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We respect the candidates proposed by the head coach and hope to finalize the overseas players the coaching staff expects by the end of June.

Association Secretary-General Lin Tsung-cheng confirmed the official request, stating that the coaching staff hopes to finalize the list of overseas players by the end of June. He emphasized the importance of including professional players, particularly pitchers, to bolster Taiwan's competitiveness against powerhouses like South Korea and Japan, who are expected to field full professional rosters.

The 20th Asian Games are scheduled to open on September 19 in Nagoya, Japan, with the baseball competition running from September 21 to 27. South Korea aims for its fifth consecutive gold medal. Wang Yen-Cheng previously represented Taiwan in the Hangzhou Asian Games and is currently in a reserve status.

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From a realistic perspective, Taiwan competing with purely amateur players cannot contend with Japan and South Korea, especially in terms of pitching strength.

Taiwan's team will be led by head coach Tang Tsung-Kai. The association has also sent similar requests to other Taiwanese players active overseas, aiming to assemble the strongest possible squad to contend for the championship.

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We want to inform overseas clubs that if Taiwanese players are still under management, they have an obligation to cooperate when the national team makes a call-up request.