Japan claimed their second Under-23 Baseball World Cup title today in Taiwan ©Getty Images

Japan claimed their second World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Under-23 Baseball World Cup title today by beating East Asian rivals South Korea in the final at the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium.

The nation were competing in their fourth final in five, having only missed the 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with their opponents in their first match for gold.

It was all decided in the third innings, with all three runs being scored by Japan, thanks to Hiroki Nakagawa, Masashi Maruyama and Yuto Nakada.

The score finished 3-0, giving Japan its second victory after beating Australia in the 2016 final.

Having twice finished third before, South Korea recorded its best result to date.

Hosts Chinese Taipei claimed the bronze medal with a 3-1 victory over Mexico.

The Mexicans took the lead thanks to a home run from Angel Jeovanny Camacho Rodriguez in the opening inning, but the equaliser came in the next round of batting.

Chen-Tso Tseng was the player to level it up with a lob to run home.

Hsiang Chang's hit in the third inning was the difference maker, allowing I-Wei Li and Song-En Tseng to run in to make it 3-1.