Ma Jun (right) of China competes against Kwon Hah nul of South Korea during the match. Photo: AFP

By Wang Wei in Guangzhou

The Chinese women's team was denied the bronze medal in the Asian Games soccer tournament third-place playoff at the Tianhe Stadium Monday, losing 2-0 to a strong South Korean side.

A second-minute blitz from Park Hee-young and a 36th-minute Ji So-yun strike saw South Korea run out winners in a game that could have ended with an even bigger margin of victory.

The fourth-place finish is the worst ever for China in their Asian Games history.

Losing to Japan by a controversial extra-time goal and a bad refereeing decision despite a dominant performance in the semifinal on Saturday, the fighting spirit of the Chinese girls and tactical awareness of coach Li Xiaopeng had drawn plaudits throughout the nation.  Home fans were justified in anticipating a victory against old rivals South Korea, who had beaten them 8-7 in a marathon penalty shootout in their last group game on Thursday.

But the supporters were soon brought back to reality as the visitors opened the scoring just 80 seconds after the kickoff.

Midfielder Park Eun-jung guided a pinpoint through ball behind the center backs in front of the box where there was no defense in sight. Park Hee-young picked up the loose ball and squeezed her shot between the legs of keeper Zhang Yue.

Park almost had her second just three minutes later when she was released through the middle on the counter, only for Zhang Yue to rush out and remove the danger.

Central defenders Yuan Fan and Li Danyan were not playing at their best, positioning themselves too far away from each other, allowing the South Koreans to exploit the gap between the two.

Goalie Zhang was kept extremely busy in the first period, tipping over a Song Jong-sun header before punching away ferocious long shots in the 24th and 26th minutes - suggesting that it might be just a matter of time before the South Koreans netted their second.

And that deserved second goal finally came in the 36th minute when star player and playmaker Ji So-yun tucked the ball into the top-right corner after a deft lob had sent her free in front of goal.

China then fought back but their best chance to pull one back before halftime was denied by the woodwork in the 47th minute when midfielder Wang Yihang slotted fullback Zhou Gaoping's low cross against the crossbar.

Li Xiaopeng used all three substitutes 15 minutes into the second period but the new players failed to gain any advantage against their well-organized opponents, posing no real threat to South Korean keeper and captain Jun Min-kyung.

Later, Japan defeated two-time reigning champions North Korea 1-0 in a tight women's football final to avenge their defeat four years ago and take the gold medal.