WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025 Bronze Medal Game: Korea claim first podium finish in triumph over Chinese Taipei

Due to inclement weather, the medal games of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025, presented by RAXUS, were rescheduled for the morning of the last day in Tainan (TPE) where world No. 4 Korea beat No. 2 Chinese Taipei for the first time in the history of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, winning the bronze medal game, 2-0, and securing their first podium finish in the tournament's history.

While Korea celebrated their best ever result in the tournament - also including a first win over USA - having previously recorded a fourth place finish in 2019, for Chinese Taipei it was the first time they have finished off the podium having recorded two titles, four silver medal and one bronze in the previous seven editions.

After Chinese Taipei's 11-5 win over Korea in the last game of the Super Round in Saturday's rain-affected schedule, the hosts were aiming to maintain their unbeaten record against their Asian neighbours, which included seven wins from as many U-12 Baseball World Cup games. But great defence and a powerful short game on Sunday saw Korea claim the honours.

After two 1-2-3 innings at the ASPAC main field, Korea loaded the bases with Leo Yang’s single to shortstop and earned their first run of the game, ending the top of the third with a 1-0 lead.

At the top of the fifth, Korea extended their lead to 2-0 with Jeongwoo Ha’s single up the middle, sending Donghyun Min home.

Manager Geyeoun Kang said the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 2025 is a big competition that they’re happy to play in, and it’s a great result for Korea - who went through the Opening Round unbeaten, including a 6-2 win over USA, before dropping games to Japan and Chinse Taipei in the Super Round - to win their first bronze medal.

“I’m happy that we finished the Opening Round on top,” Kang said. “Also, we defeated USA for the first time, so it’s something to be happy about.”

Korea’s starting pitcher, Yunseo Kwon, threw a complete shutout game against Chinese Taipei. He said being one team was the key reason for them to win the medal.

“I was a little bit nervous,” Kwon said. “But I had a feeling that we would win today.”

Kwon didn’t do anything special aside from taking a good rest to calm himself down before the most crucial game for Korea during this tournament, and throwing a complete shutout game and winning the bronze medal made him feel “fly away.”

Kang admitted that the pitching limit made their rotation difficult, but after losing to Chinese Taipei the day before, he decided to start Kwon.

“He’s a great player,” Kang said. “He has strong fastballs, and he’s the reason we won this bronze medal.”