HANGZHOU, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China conceded two goals in the first half and lost 2-0 to South Korea in the quarterfinals of the men's football tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sunday.

As the favorites, South Korea broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, when Hong Hyun-seok curled a free kick over China goalkeeper Han Jiaqi into the top corner.

In the 35th minute, South Korea doubled their lead as Song Min-kyu tapped home into an empty net thanks to good work from Cho Young-wook.

China almost pulled one back in first-half stoppage time, but Dai Weijun's close header hit the far post.

South Korea controled the second half but missed several scoring opportunities, while China couldn't muster a single shot on target.

In the semifinals, South Korea will face Uzbekistan, who beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 earlier on Sunday.

The other semifinal will take place between Japan and Hong Kong (China), as Japan beat DPR Korea 2-1, while Hong Kong surprisingly edged Iran 1-0.