Women's soccer: China, Japan, North Korea Win in Olympic Qualifiers

In women's soccer, Asian champions North Korea and main rivals China and Japan have opened their qualifying round games for the Athens Olympics with easy wins in Japan.

China trounced Myanmar 11-0 in their Group B match in Hiroshima, while North Korea, also the Asian Games gold medallists in 2002, powered past Taiwan 5-0 in Group A. In Tokyo, Japan hammered 7 unanswered goals past Vietnam in their Group C match.

Promising Chinese star Teng Wei found the net four times, with veteran Li Jie scoring a hat-trick.

After this comfortable victory, China will take on Guam Tuesday and face South Korea, their formidable rivals in the group, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Yau Ka-wai scored twice to give Hong Kong a 2-0 win over Singapore in Group A, while Asian silver medallists South Korea whipped Guam 7-0 in Group B.

Eleven teams have been divided into three groups in the preliminary round and the top team from each group and the best runner-up will reach the semi-finals, with the two finalists qualifying for Athens.

Source: China Radio International