BEIJING, Aug 19: South Korea toppled defending champions Cuba 7-4 on Tuesday to confirm their status as the surprise package of the Olympic baseball tournament and gold medal contenders.

But the gold medal chances of World Baseball Classic winners Japan warned they should not be forgotten after they pulverized China 10-0 in a game that was ended by the mercy rule after seven innings.

With just one game remaining in preliminary round play, the plucky Koreans have already taken an impressive list of scalps to move top the standings with a 6-0 record.

Triple Olympic gold medallists Cuba, 2000 Olympic champions the United States and Japan have all fallen to the Koreans.

The top-of-the-table clash between the tournament’s only unbeaten teams began with Cuba racing to a 3-0 lead in the second inning.

But the Koreans battled back to push across five runs in the fourth, Ko Young-min providing the big hit with a two-run single.

Cruising along with a 4-0 lead, Japan exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to bring their game with China to an early end.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka smacked a two-run home to open the floodgates as Japan improved to 4-2 setting the stage for a showdown with 4-2 United States in their final league game on Wednesday.

Korea, Cuba, Japan and the US all move through to the semi-finals but Wednesday’s games will determine the matchups for the medal round.—Reuters