DOHA: A spectacular opening ceremony on Tuesday marked the start of the AFC U-23 Championship at Abdullah bin KhalifaStadium. The opening ceremony was followed by Qatar's 3-1 win over China in their opening Group A clash. The three-week event is an Olympic Games qualifier for at least three teams who will top the Jan 12-30 championship. Former Qatar players carried the championship trophy against a backdrop of fireworks show that also included song and dance sequences. Khaled Salman and Mubarak Mustafa, Qatari footballlegendswho featuredat the 1984 and 1992 Olympics respectively, also took part in theceremony. The Qatar squad entered the match venue to a rapturous applause. The home team is coached by Felix Sanchez.