Baseball: S. Korea, Canada, Taiwan qualify for Olympics
Associated Press
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan, South Korea and Canada won spots today in the Beijing Olympics baseball competition by finishing in the top three positions in a qualifying tournament.
In today's seventh and final round, Taiwan fell to South Korea 4-3, Canada beat Germany 2-1, Australia defeated South Africa 13-9 and Mexico bested Spain 2-1.
Canada and South Korea topped the eight competitors with identical 6-1 records, while Taiwan was third at 5-2.
A big disappointment was Australia, which won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The Australians finished fourth with a 4-3 record.
Joining Canada, South Korea and Taiwan in Beijing will be host nation China, which gained an automatic place, and the United States, Cuba, the Netherlands and Japan, which won earlier qualifying tournaments.