A U-18 Chinese soccer team has received much applause after finishing in the second place in a top-level Asian soccer championship, but questions also aroused as media doubted the absence of government funding in supporting the team.

The Chinese team on Sunday lost 0-3 to their South Korean counterparts in the final match of the 44th Asian School Football U-18 Championship that started on May 20 in Gyeongju, South Korea.

This reportedly marks a china team's best result in the championship over the past several years.

The 20 soccer players of the Chinese team were selected from five high schools holding the tradition of soccer-playing in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province as well as from central China’s Henan province.

However, their trip to South Korea received no government funding, and instead the match fund was financed through company support, according to Ma Dexing, a noted deputy editor of Changsha-based newspaper Titan Sports.

Ma claimed in the article published on Monday on his personal WeChat account that some schools organizing “soccer dance” for performance could receive supporting funds instead.

China has been endeavoring to promote soccer across the country, especially on campus, as it vows to become a major soccer power.

Ma added that other soccer teams received weeks-long training for the championship and some of their players were already playing for national or international leagues, as compared to the Chinese team consisting of players who are still students at schools.

“The biggest problem for us is the inadequate training time. We only had eight days for group training before arriving in South Korea and the other group training was a 10-day activity held in March. This is far from enough,” Pei Encai, the Chinese team coach, was quoted as stating according to Yangtze Evening News.