HK football team's historic run in Asiad ends as Japan wins 4-0 to advance to finals

The Japan football team thrashed Hong Kong 4-nil in the semifinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games on Wednesday, crushing the hope of the city's team to continue their historic run in Asiad.

Shun Ayukawa, who plays for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after Hong Kong's defenders failed to clear the ball from a free kick.

Although Japan controlled the possession in the first half, Hong Kong did have some chances but players failed to find the net.

Japan put Hong Kong under pressure throughout the second half, with Shota Hino scoring a header in the 54th minute as the Japanese team continued to assault Hong Kong's penalty box with threatening passes.

Yota Komi added one more goal for his team in the 74th minute, before Shota Hino scored his second goal of the match in the 86th minute with an astonishing long-range shot to cement the win.

Separately, South Korea defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in the semifinals, moving to the brink of their third straight gold medal.

Japan will meet South Korea in the gold medal match scheduled on Saturday (Oct 7), while Hong Kong will face Uzbekistan on the same day to fight for a bronze medal.

Hong Kong stunned heavyweights Iran in the Asiad quarter-finals to reach the last four of the under-24 competition for the first time with a team missing several players who were not released by their clubs.

The city's senior team are also on the rise and will play at the Asian Cup next January after qualifying for the tournament for the first time since 1968.

The Asian Games men's football squads are made up of under-23 players, with three older players allowed, but the age limit has been extended to under-24 for this edition because the games were delayed by a year.