India dismantled Korea in their opener as they drubbed the hosts 76-13 in a match which turned out to be a no contest. Debutant Aslam Inamdar, who came in as a substitute for seasoned raider Naveen Kumar, scored a super 10 in his team's emphatic victory. India scored nine straight points before Korea opened their account.

The first half ended with the winners leading by 36 points at 40-4. Korea managed nine points in the second half but it was no match against India’s clinical all-round show.

The defending champions inflicted the hosts with five all-outs in the match. Surjeet Narwal was impressive in defence and scored seven tackle points.

India faced a slightly stronger challenge in their second match of the day against Chinese Taipei. Led by Sachin’s all-round show, they won the match 53-19. The two teams exchanged points at the start of the game with India leading by a point at 7-6. They increased the gap with eight straight points which included an all-out in the 12th minute.

The scores read 21-12 in India’s favour at half-time. Three all-outs by the champions in the second half and a flurry of points helped them win the match by a margin of 34 points.

India will take on Japan on Wednesday. Their much-awaited clash against Iran, the 2003 champions, will be on Thursday.

Six teams - India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong are taking part in the Asian Championships. The top two teams after the single-legged round-robin league will meet in the final on Friday.