South Korea beat defending champion Cuba 3-2 on Saturday to win Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Lee Yong-kyu opened the winning team's lead with a two run homer in the first inning and teammate Park Jim-man added one point in the seventh inning.

Cuba's Michel Enriquez and Alexei Bell homered respectively in the first and seventh innings.

The bronze medal went to the United States.

Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal could be last one for this sport as baseball will not be included in the 2012 London Games. Whether it can enter the Games afterwards remains unclear.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2008)