Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Taiwanese baseball fans lamented Taiwan's 2-0 loss to South Korea in the opening game of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Friday but were proud of Taiwan's overall performance and fighting spirit.
The loss means Taiwan's hopes of advancing to the second round are slim. Taiwan has to beat Japan on Saturday and China on Sunday to ensure a top two finish in the Pool A and a second round seed.
"We went down fighting. I'm proud of them although we lost the game, " said a fan surnamed Lan, who watched the outdoor live broadcast on a giant LCD screen in the Taipei County Plaza with more than 2,000 cheering fans.
South Korea lost to Taiwan 5-4 in 10 innings in the 2003 Asian Championship and failed to qualify for the 2004 Sydney Olympics.
But Taiwan's top pitcher Wang Chien-ming, who plays for the New York Yankees, did not join the national team this time, nor did top hitters Cheng Chin-feng and Peng Cheng-min.
In addition to the Taipei County Plaza, live broadcasts on giant screens were also set up at the Taipei Arena, Living Mall, National Taiwan University Gymnasium and various locations in Taichung and Kaohsiung. More than 6,000 fans packed the Taipei Arena.
Two television stations broadcast the game live and even the legislators became baseball fans for three hours. Yu Shyi-kun, chairman of the ruling party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), also watched the broadcast.
Taiwan had five hits, three fewer than South Korea, but had a chance to tie the game at the bottom of the ninth innings. Trailing by two with runners on first and third base, pinch hitter Chan Chi-yao failed to produce a hit.
The WBC is the first international baseball tournament to feature U.S. Major League players. Sixteen teams have been divided into four groups, with Taiwan bracketed in Pool A with China, Japan and South Korea for round-robin first-round games slated for March 3-5.