Doha: The AFC U23 Asian Cup kicked off in style as Qatar, the hosts, secured a commanding 2-0 victory against Indonesia at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. In a fiercely contested match on the tournament's opening day, 10-man Jordan showed remarkable resilience, holding Australia to a goalless draw. This display of grit and determination led to a point split between the two sides at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium. Following a grand ceremony marking the start of the 16-team tournament, Qatar demonstrated their prowess on the field. They secured the victory with a masterful penalty conversion by Khaled Ali in the 45+1st minute, and a breathtaking strike by Ahmed Al Rawi in the 54th minute. Right from the onset, Qatar pressed Indonesia aggressively, with Hashmi Al Hussain testing the goalkeeper as early as the third minute. Despite numerous attempts, including shots from Mostafa Meshaal and Mahdi Salem in the 14th and 17th minutes, respectively, Qatar couldn't breach the Indonesian goalkeeper, Ernando Ari. Al Rawi had an opportunity to break the deadlock just before the half-hour mark but failed to find the target after a swift counter-attack. Indonesia, however, found their rhythm, with Qatari goalkeeper Youssef Abdullah being called into action by a Muhammad Ferarri header in the 36th minute, followed by Rafael Struick hitting the upright three minutes later. A costly foul by Indonesia's captain, Rizky Ridho, on Salem, led to Qatar being awarded a penalty after a VAR review, which Ali successfully converted in added time. Indonesia's hopes hit at the beginning of the second half when Ivar Jenner received his marching orders after receiving his second yellow card moments into the restart. The situation worsened for Indonesia in the 54th minute when Witan Sulaeman fouled Meshaal about 30 yards out. Al Rawi, making amends for his earlier miss, delivered a sublime free-kick that curled past the defence and nestled into the bottom right corner of the net. Despite Qatar's triumph, injuries to both scorers, Ali and Al Rawi, raise concerns about their availability for Thursday's match against Jordan. On the other hand, Indonesia suffered a setback as Ramadhan Sananta was shown a red card following a VAR review, overturning the initial yellow card for the substitute's reckless tackle on Mohammed Aiash.