(Asiad) Celtic winger ready to do more after helping S. Korea to opening win

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- In South Korea's 4-1 victory over Qatar in their first men's football match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday, midfielder Yang Hyun-jun served as an offensive catalyst.

The skilled Celtic winger consistently put opposing defenders on their heels with his speed and his ability to thread passes. He assisted Kim Myeong-jun's second-half goal that put South Korea up 4-0 with a nifty through ball.

However, Yang said Wednesday he felt he has more to give to the national team.

"Honestly, I was not happy with the way I played," Yang said before a training session at Handa Sports Park in Handa, about 30 kilometers south of the main host city, Nagoya. "I missed too many chances and made more mistakes than I wanted. I have to focus better.

"I have to be more active on the wings to stretch out the opposing defense," Yang added. "I have to do my part to make life easy for the rest of the team. I will try to reduce mistakes and go the extra mile for the team."

Yang, 24, is one of three over-age players in this under-23 competition. He is also one of four players who represented South Korea at this year's FIFA World Cup, where the Taegeuk Warriors got eliminated in the group stage, much to the consternation of the football-crazed nation.

"I was really disappointed with the results at the World Cup," Yang said. "I really want to win the gold medal here at the Asian Games and bring joy to our fans."

South Korea won each of the past three men's football gold medals, starting on home soil in Incheon in 2014.

"We are all pursuing the common goal of winning the gold medal," Yang said. "We have so many promising players on the U-23 team. The head coach (Lee Min-sung) believes these young guys can use the Asian Games as a springboard and develop into players that can make the senior national team."