"If I play against Taiwan, I'll throw a changeup. I'll make the best of my skills."

Ko Young-pyo, the league's leading sidearm pitcher, is set to make the final roster of the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 national team. Furthermore, he is one of the leading contenders for the first match against Taiwan.

Ko Young-pyo took the mound as the starting member of the national team for a practice game against the military athletic unit Sangmu Phoenix at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 6th and recorded five hits and two runs in three innings.스포츠토토

Ko Young-pyo scored two runs on his first pitch in the top of the first inning, but he pitched a good scoreless pitch in the second innings.

Ko Young-pyo, whom I met after the game, said, "It's been a long time since I started the game. There are times when starting pitchers have difficulties in the first inning, but I'm glad that I got better as I went on. I think I'll be able to improve my condition further."

Ko Young-pyo is mentioned as a starter against Kwak Bin and Taiwan, who played three innings together. "If I play against Taiwan, I think I should make good use of my strengths because Taiwanese players have been weak in my changeup in the past," Ko said.

Finally, Ko Young-pyo said of the bullpen, "I'm confident that my juniors who boast good ball power are behind me," adding, "Because the bullpen's ball is good, I will play to prevent the game with the least number of runs even if it's a short inning."

The team will announce its final entry for the Premier 12 sometime in the morning on Tuesday. The team will depart for Taiwan on Tuesday and play preliminary matches with Taiwan on Tuesday, Cuba on Wednesday, Japan on Wednesday, the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and Australia on Wednesday. 

Manager Ryu Joong-il said, "It was my last game in Korea. Kwak Bin and Ko Young-pyo, the starting pitchers, showed good pitching in three innings each. In addition, the bullpen pitched one inning each, and the bullpen pitched really well. I will prepare well and play well in the main game in Taiwan from the 13th."

Meanwhile, the pitching staff of the national team against Sangmu performed well in the relay, following Ko Young-pyo (two runs in three innings), Lim Chan-kyu (one scoreless inning), Lee Young-ha (one scoreless inning), Kim Seo-hyun (one scoreless inning), Cho Byung-hyun (one scoreless inning), Park Young-hyun (one scoreless inning), Kwak Bin (three innings), Yoo Young-chan (one scoreless inning), Kwak Do-gyu (one scoreless inning), Kim Taek-yeon (one scoreless inning), Jung Hae-young (one scoreless inning), Choi Ji-min (one scoreless inning), and Jeon Sang-hyun (one scoreless inning).