Yonex Main Vision Cambodia Badminton Championship 2024 is a vital event to sharpen the capacity of Cambodian young athletes aged under 12 years old for the Asian Youth Games in Cambodia in 2029. The optimism was highlighted by H.E. Ly Kosal, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence and President of the Cambodia Badminton Federation, at the closing ceremony of the Yonex Main Vision Cambodia Badminton Championship 2024 at Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh on Jan. 28. The two-day tournament attracted the participation of 160 athletes and consists of three categories, including U12 players, amateurs, and beginners for youth. H.E. Ly Kosal thanked humanitarians and companies, including Yonex Main Vision, for their support in organising the event and contributing significantly to promoting Cambodia's sports sector. He hoped that Yonex Main Vision would become a vital cooperative partner to help develop Cambodia's sport's human resources, especially badminton, towards a sport of potenti al competitiveness on the international arena. Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse INCHEON, With the LG Twins having ended their 29-year title drought in South Korean baseball, captain Oh Ji-hwan says he feels the weight of a champion. "This position comes with a lot of responsibilities," Oh told reporters at Incheon International Airport on Tuesday before departing for the Twins' spring training in Arizona. "I won't be complacent. I will keep doing my thing, and also look for what my teammates and my team need from me." Oh, who won the most valuable player in the Korea Series as the Twins beat the KT Wiz in five games, said his team should be in good shape to repeat as the champions thanks to a series of rule changes. Following in the footsteps of Major League Baseball (MLB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will ban infield shifts this year. Four infielders must have at least one foot in the infield dirt, with at least two infielders on either side of the second base. This will put a premium on range for middle infielders, and Oh and his double play partner, Shin Min-jae, are bo th considered strong defenders up the middle. And because the shift ban will prevent teams from moving an infielder into the grass as a fourth outfielder, the three outfielders have to be on their own. The Twins have two of the very best in the KBO with center fielder Park Hae-min and right fielder Hong Chang-ki. "We have players with great range on defense," Oh said. "Our up-the-middle defense is pretty stout with Hae-min, Min-jae and myself. I think the rule change will help us." Former Twins captain Kim Hyun-soo said the shift ban will help him at the plate. Kim is a pull-heavy left-handed batter, precisely the type of player that the shift ban is designed to aid. An extra defender on the right side of the field would rob players like Kim of what would otherwise be a base hit, hurting their batting average in the process. Kim had 143 hits last season, his fewest total in 10 years. "When I hit the ball well and they still turned into outs, I found myself becoming a bit passive at the plate," Kim said. " With this ban on shifts, I think I will feel a lot more relaxed." Park Hae-min, one of many speedsters for the team, could benefit from another rule change for 2024 -- bigger bases. As the bases will go from 15 square inches to 18 square inches in size, the number of steals is expected to increase in the KBO, as was the case in MLB when it enlarged its bases in 2023. "Obviously, this will help base stealers, but opposing pitchers and catchers will also try hard to get us out," said Park, who swiped 26 bags in 38 attempts last year. "I'll be running more often this year and hopefully, I will have a better rate of success, too." Kim and Park, two of the team's elder statesmen at 36 and 33, respectively, said defending the title will be more difficult than winning for the first time in nearly 30 years. "The moment we become too full of ourselves, we will fall to last place. Defending is tougher than getting to the top," Kim said. "We have to be even better than last year to repeat as the champion. During sp ring training, I will be talking to younger guys about just how much stronger we have to be and we can be," Park said the Twins will have the bull's-eye on their back. "If we struggle even just a bit, we'll be hearing whispers about how we're worse than last year," Park said. "We have to be able to overcome that kind of adversity." Oh offered a more upbeat outlook, saying the Twins' depth will come in handy following the departure of closer Go Woo-suk to the San Diego Padres and the loss of setup man Ham Deok-ju to a long-term injury. "We had 42 come-from-behind wins last year, and it was possible because our backup guys came through," he said. "I think you will get a better sense of our depth this year. We have guys who really want to step into some of the roster holes, and it will foster good internal competition." Source: Yonhap News Agency