Choi Tae-uk led the way with a hat-trick as the South Korean Olympic soccer team beat their Paraguayan counterparts 5-0 in Doha, Qatar Wednesday.

The win gave the Korean side a strong start to the eight-team friendly tournament, a warm-up for the Asian region Olympic qualifiers, which start in March. In that tournament, South Korea will face China, Iran and Malaysia, with the group winner securing a ticket to Athens for the Olympics.

South Korea has played in the Olympic Games soccer tournament on seven occasions, including in Sydney in 2000, but has never advanced beyond the group stage.

South Korea's second match is on Friday night against Switzerland, who opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Morocco.