TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan qualified for the Olympic baseball final on Wednesday, whileDominican Republic will compete for bronze. The respective rivals of both teams will be decided this Thursday in the confrontation betweenUSA andSouth Korea.
The pass to the final in Japan came afterThe host scored three runs in the eighth inning to beat South Korea 5-2.
South Korea will have to fight for the bronze medal if they lose to the United States, which according to the unusual format of the tournament, will have the opportunity to access the gold medal match on Saturday after having defeated the Dominican Republic 3-1.
The results guarantee that one of the three favorites of the tournament, made up of six teams, will rise to the top of the podium.
The United States and South Korea have one gold each in baseball's five Olympic participations. Japan's best result was the silver medal in 1996.Cuba, which won the other previous golds,did not qualify for these Tokyo Games.
Dominican second baseman Gustavo Núñez has a muscle strain and will miss the bronze medal match, he toldReuters coach Hector Borg.
Outfielder Emilio Bonifacio still has a hamstring injury, so his backup catcher could be the only player on the bench in the medal game.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing in Spanish by Javier Leira)
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