Rivals China and Japan got their Asian Games soccer gold medal campaigns off to flying starts on Wednesday while holders Iran buried their recent problems to also grab three points.
Ten-man China, inspired by teenager goalkeeper Wang Dalei, held out for a 1-0 win over Iraq in a bad-tempered Group E match.
China, under new Olympic coach Ratomir Dujkovic who took Ghana to the World Cup finals this year, had Zhou Haibin to thank for the sole goal of the encounter.
PHOTO: AFP
Zhou scored in the seventh minute after his side had dominated possession in the opening exchanges.
Japan, the runners-up to Iran in Busan four years ago, saw off Pakistan in Group F but they were given a shock before scraping home 3-2.
Having led 2-0 and 3-1 thanks to goals by Keisuke Honda and a double by Hiroyuki Taniguchi they were pegged back to 3-2 with eight minutes remaining.
Their nerves were not helped by the sending off for a second bookable offence of Naoaki Aoyama.
Muhammad Rasool and Naveed Akram were on target for Pakistan.
"My goal helped the team to relax," said Honda. "We were all very nervous before the start."
Defending champions Iran got the defense of their title off to a winning start with a 3-1 win over the Maldives.
But at least the Indian Ocean side didn't suffer as they did the last time these two sides met when Iran racked up a 17-0 scoreline in a World Cup qualifier in 1997.
Iran went into the match in a state of turmoil having been banned then reinstated by FIFA at the weekend in a row with the Tehran government over interference in soccer affairs.
Iran, coached by veteran Brazilian Rene Simoes, were always on top in the Group D clash but will regret not adding to their total.
"I am upset that we only won 3-1," said Simoes. "It's worth three points. We are the defending champions, but this is a new team, it's not the same as the one four years ago."
Arash Borhani and Mazyar Zare Eshghdoost gave Iran a 2-0 lead at the break but the Maldives pulled one back in the 78th minute through Arshad Ali.
Iran made sure of the points four minutes from time with a goal from substitute Adel Kolahkaj.
In other matches played on Wednesday, India and Hong Kong drew 1-1, Oman saw off Malaysia 3-1 while North Korea and Syria battled out a 0-0 draw.
Macau Disqualified
Macau's women were disqualified from the Asian Games table tennis team event yesterday for using illegal glue on their bats.
They were found guilty of using "dangerous and high levels" of glue during routine testing of players' equipment, a Games official said.
"The level of aromatic solvent was 300 parts per million. Those are very dangerous, high levels," technical official Park Do-cheon said.
The glue is used to stick the rubber to the bat but high levels can also help increase the spin and alter the speed of the ball.
Macau's women lost both their matches on Wednesday 3-0, to Thailand and Singapore.
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