The Chinese women's soccer team were held to a goalless draw by Japanese in their Asian Games opener on Monday while their men's side lost 3-0 to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Our players did very well in the game, but we have yet to reach technical or tactical peak," said China head coach Hao Wei.

"The first match is always difficult," added Hao, who also noted there are some details the team need to work on.

According to the head coach, the Chinese team originally targeted at victory, which explained three substitutions throughout the match. "We wanted to make the team more offensive," said Hao.

Hao said he believed the Chinese team would play better as the tournament went on.

Earlier in the day, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea handed a 3-0 defeat to an ambitious Chinese side who had expected a top-four finish at the Asian Games men's soccer tournament.

Sim Hyon-jin stunned the Chinese with a 10th minute goal, which was followed by two more goals by So Kyong-jin and Ri Hyok-chol at the 47th and 57th minute respectively.

Head coach Fu Bo attributed the loss to their own mistakes, saying it was a good chance to learn from a strong competitor such as DPR Korea.

"It was us to blame," said Fu. "The 10th minute goal was the main reason for today's failure. The three goals all happened after we made mistakes."

China were drawn in Group F along with DPR Korea and Pakistan at the Asian Games. Top two teams from each of the eight groups advance to the knock-out stage.

China's best performance at the Asian Games men's soccer tournament was in 1994 in Hiroshima, Japan, when they finished runners-up to Uzbekistan.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)