Anchor: The main batch of South Korean athletes and officials for the upcoming Asian Games arrived in Hangzhou, China on Wednesday, with a record delegation set to compete in 39 out of 40 sports in the Asian Games. Ahead of the official opening, South Korea’s men’s football team began the campaign to retain its title with a blowout over Kuwait in the group stage on Tuesday.
Max Lee reports.

Report: 

[Sound bite: KBS live coverage of S. Korea-Kuwait Group E football match at Asian Games]

The South Korean men's national football team stormed past Kuwait as they kicked off their search for an unprecedented third straight gold medal in the Asian Games on Tuesday.

Team Korea crushed the Middle Eastern country 9-0 at the Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium thanks to brilliant performances from VfB Stuttgart midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong and Gimcheon Sangmu FC forward Cho Young-wook.

The Group E action took off early, with Jeong scoring in the third minute, before going on to add another just as the first half came to a close, while Cho Young-wook and Paik Seung-ho found the net in the 20th and 44th minute, respectively.

Just three minutes into the second half, Jeong added another goal for a hat trick, before an offensive onslaught by South Korea produced four more goals for a final score of 9-0, with Cho grabbing himself a second and Um Won-sang, Bak Jae-yong and An Jae-jun also getting on the scoresheet.

With 2002 World Cup legend Hwang Sun-hong at the helm, the Taegeuk Warriors will face Thailand on Thursday and will close out the group stage against Bahrain on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the main South Korean contingent arrived in the host country on Wednesday, with the Asian Games officially kicking off on Saturday, as a record delegation of one-thousand-140 athletes and officials prepare to compete in 39 out of 40 sports.

With subpar performance at the last Asian Games, the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee last month said it will chase third place in the medal race and look to win between 45 to 50 gold medals.
Max Lee, KBS World Radio News.