South Korea defeated Malaysia 3-0 in their Asiad men's football match on Sunday, beginning the quest to end its gold medal drought on a winning note.

In the Group A clash, defender Rim Chang-woo headed in the opening goal near the half-hour mark, and Kim Shin-wook and Kim Seung-dae each scored late in the second half at Munhak Stadium here in Incheon, the host city of the 17th Asian Games.

In the first Group A match held earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia beat Laos 3-0, also at Munhak.

The Asiad opening ceremony is set for Friday but the men's and the women's football tournaments began on Sunday.

The men's tournament features 29 teams that are divided into five groups of four and three groups of three. The top two teams from each group will reach the knockout round.

South Korea's next match is against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday at Ansan Wa Stadium in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, just south of Incheon. The host hasn't won an Asiad gold in men's football since 1986.  

Against Malaysia, South Korea opened with great energy and pushed around the hapless opponents with relative ease. In the fourth minute, striker Kim Shin-wook took a nifty feed from winger Yun Il-lok and split two defenders before shooting wide of the net.

After intercepting an errant pass in the ninth, midfielder Kim Seung-dae dribbled toward the top of the circle only to let go a weak shot that rolled into goalkeeper Mohd Izham Tarmizi bin Roslan.

South Korea kept the Malaysian custodian busy; in the 10th, Yun crossed once again for Kim Shin-wook, but the 196-centimeter forward was off the mark.

Following a quiet stretch, South Korea finally delivered the big punch in the 26th minute. Rim, the 183㎝ defender, jumped over two smaller Malaysian players to head in a corner taken by An Yong-woo, much to the delight of 38,500 fans. (Yonhap)