(Asiad) Baseball manager proud of players for overcoming pressure to win gold

TOYOHASHI, Japan, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- As South Korea's gold medal-winning streak in Asian Games baseball grew over the years, so did pressure on the players to keep the good times rolling with each passing competition.

For this year's Asian Games, manager Ryu Ji-hyun brought 24 players from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to central Japan, with an eye on picking up the country's fifth consecutive gold medal.

As if there was not enough pressure already, the South Korean players did themselves no favor by losing to a Japanese team of semi-pros by 5-0 in the first game of the Super Round on Friday.

The two countries met again for the gold medal game Sunday at Toyohashi Municipal Baseball Stadium in Toyohashi, southeast of the main host city Nagoya. Japan might have been playing with house money, while South Korea needed to take care of business, not just to extend the streak but to turn the tide of public opinion.

South Korea's 3-1 victory might only have accomplished the first half of the equation, but Ryu insisted he was still proud of his team.

"Winning a gold medal in a short tournament like this is never easy," Ryu said. "I would like to compliment my players for overcoming so much pressure. It doesn't matter how big a competition is. Anytime we play Japan, it always comes with so much stress for players. I am so proud of them for ending this tournament on a winning note."

Amid the tournament-long struggles by the lineup, starting pitcher Gwak Been was an integral part of the run to gold. He gave up just one run in 6 1/3 innings and struck out nine batters on Sunday, another gem by the right-hander who had earlier blanked Chinese Taipei over six innings.

"That is our MVP right there," Ryu said, pointing to Gwak in the mixed zone. "He was the oldest player on the team (at 27). And he was the responsible leader from start to finish. I can't say enough about him."

Ryu said he had to deal with his share of pressure but he had plenty of help from his staff.

"In any sport, being the leader of a national team is not an easy position. And I tried to handle my position with a sense of responsibility," Ryu said. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank our team of scouts and analysts for all their hard work. They barely had any sleep during this tournament to help us prepare for each game."

Ryu, who also managed South Korea to the quarterfinals at the World Baseball Classic in March, said he now wanted to take some time off from baseball.

"For the past two weeks, I staked my life on this tournament," Ryu said. "I want to get away from it all for a little bit now."