She was on pace to reach the 200-run mark, but a call-up to the Hangzhou Asian Games prevented her from doing so. But Kim Hye-sung, 24, has bigger dreams. A gold medal.

In her last game before being called up to the Asian Games, Kim went 6-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, three runs scored and a stolen base against Daejeon Hanwha on Sept. 22. She also set a new single-season record with 102 runs scored.

His recent nine-game hitting streak has seen him surge to 5-for-42 (23-for-23) with one home run, five RBI and a 1.358 OPS in that span. His overall season numbers were also career highs in nearly every category, as he batted .396 (183-for-546) with seven home runs, 55 RBI, 102 runs scored, 55 walks, 76 strikeouts, 25 stolen bases, a .447 on-base percentage and an .843 OPS in 134 games.

Most notably, he leads the league in hits with 183. With nine games left in the season, Keum is arithmetically on pace for 195. A 200-hit season is not out of the question if he continues his recent hot streak. It would also be the second 200-hit season in KBO history after Nexen’s Seo Gun-chang (201) in 2014.

However, Kim will be joining the Asian Games team on the 23rd. On a normal schedule, he would return home on the 8th of next month, with Kiwoom playing six games in between. Kim will only have three games left after her return. Her quest for 200 hits was cut short by the Asian Games.

She will not be able to secure the most hits title, let alone 200. Second-place Son Asub (NC) is 18 runs behind Kim with 165, but he has plenty of time to close the gap during the Asian Games. He still has 21 games left to play in the NC. There is a good chance that Son will overtake Kim Hye-sung with just three games left. Son is also in great form with a 193-hit pace.

“I was lucky to get to the Asian Games with my peak hitting,” said Kim. The team has done a good job of managing my physical condition, 레고토토 so I think I’m getting good results,” she said, adding, “I’m greedy, but Son is hitting so well. I’m not looking forward to it because there’s no guarantee that this pace will continue,” he said calmly.

While records and titles mean a lot, the Asian Games are much more important to Kim in terms of her career as a whole. With a gold medal and military service benefits, she can set her sights higher and faster. Kim played at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021 and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2023, where she went 9-for-15 with nine doubles, four home runs, six RBIs and two stolen bases in nine games.

She has plenty of international experience and is expected to be a pillar player at the Asian Games, not just the youngest player. Despite Kim’s performance, both the Olympics and the WBC did not produce the results that were expected. Now, there is no place to back down. “I will do my best and come back with a gold medal and a smile on my face,” said Kim.