"I am happy to start in this way," said Jorma Siitarien, the head coach of the Chinese team. "We played 60 minutes in full speed, although probably we can score more."

    China, the top-ranked team in Asia and the seventh in the world, opened their match with the first goal just 16 seconds after the starting whistle and flied to a 6-0 lead in the first period.

    The Chinese were just too strong, too fast and too skillful for the South Korean, ranked fifth in Asia and 26th in the world, which finished the match without a single shot on goal.

    China had won two straight titles since women's ice hockey was introduced into the Winter Asiad in 1996 before they were beaten to the third in the last edition in Aomori, Japan in 2003.

    "The result four years ago doesn't mean anything to the team now," said Siitarien. "This afternoon Japan and DPRK played a good match. They are both strong, and so are the Kazaks."

    "Our team is young, but they really have good chance to beat all these teams," He added.

    Earlier, Japan, the silver medallists in 2003, edged out DPR Korea 3-2 in the opener of the women's ice hockey tournament, featuring five teams on a round-robin format with the gold medal match on February 3.

    The sixth Asian Winter Games officially opens later Sunday evening.