Coronavirus: Baseball, football, golf in Korea set to swing into action
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LG Twins' Jeong Keun-woo sliding at home plate, only to be tagged out by the Doosan Bears' Park Sei-hyok during a pre-season baseball game between the two Seoul-based teams at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in the South Korean capital yesterday. Professional sport returned to South Korea as coronavirus restrictions eased, with the first pitch thrown before empty stands. However, the game was watched by an online audience of more than 700,000.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
SEOUL • Professional sport returned to South Korea yesterday as coronavirus restrictions in the country eased, with the first pitch thrown in a baseball pre-season derby in front of empty stands.
The Seoul-based Doosan Bears and LG Twins are Korea's biggest rivals in the country's most popular spectator sport and their shared stadium in the capital's Jamsil area would usually be packed.
But with fans barred, the stands were empty as the Twins' Cha Woo-chan threw the first pitch. Even the cheerleaders - an essential element of firing up the atmosphere at what would normally be a feverish encounter - were also absent.
The stadium was silent except for the continuous clicking of camera shutters from around 50 members of the media, and occasional shouts from the dug-outs.
Reporters were not allowed to approach the players.
Even so, more than 700,000 fans tuned in to watch a livestream of the match on Naver, the country's largest portal, with the LG Twins running out 5-2 winners.
"Although it is being held behind closed doors, I think it's good that we can hold these games for the fans who are watching from their homes," said LG Twins media officer Kim Kwang-hwan. "We hope that the coronavirus outbreak will be contained soon, so many fans can come and enjoy our game just like previous years."
With South Korea reporting a steady decline in new cases - on Monday there were just nine new cases, the fourth consecutive day of fewer than 20 new infections - the government said at the weekend that it would permit outdoor sport to resume behind closed doors. It has over 10,000 Covid-19 cases.
The Korea Baseball Organisation (KBO) said the regular season would start behind closed doors on May 5 albeit under strict health guidelines such as players having their temperature checked twice before the games.
South Korean football clubs are also expected to be back in action soon after the K-League said they would be allowed practice matches from yesterday.
The country's women golfers are also preparing for play, with the announcement that the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Championship would begin on May 14 in Yangju, east of Seoul. World No. 6 Kim Sei-young and 10th-ranked Lee Jeong-eun will be part of the 144-strong field, Yonhap reported yesterday, with the tournament prize fund totalling 2.3 billion won (S$2.67 million).
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700k
Number of fans who watched a livestream of a pre-season baseball game between Doosan Bears and LG Twins.
Fans could also be in for a treat as they may even be allowed onto the golf course and watch the players live in action. If so, it would be a contrast to the United States PGA Tour's decision last week to resume its season but stage its first four events, starting with the June 11-14 Charles Schwab Challenge, in front of empty galleries.
But KLPGA officials said that it will "put the utmost priority on the safety of athletes and fans" and the details of the event will depend on how the situation develops in South Korea.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
