The win marks a good start for the team in Group B, which includes Iran , Turkmenistan , Bahrain and Vietnam.
At the opening game in Qatar Asian Games four years ago, Vietnam lost 2-1 to Bahrain .
Midfielder Nguyen Thanh Trung put Vietnam ahead just 34 minutes
into the game when he slotted home Pham Thanh Luong's through-ball.
Vietnam focused on a counter-attacking game, to nullify the
superior height and strength of their Bahraini opponents, and took the
lead into half time.
Fifteen minutes into second half,
Trung nearly scored a second goal but his free kick was saved by
Bahrain 's keeper Mushaima.
In the 72nd minute, Nguyen
Trong Hoang made it 2-0 from a quick counter-attack, before striker
Nguyen Anh Duc scored the third goal in the 88th minute.
Bahrain pulled back a consolation goal in the last minute.
Vietnam will meet Turkmenistan on Nov. 10 and Iran on Nov 13 at the Guangdong People's Stadium.
Team assistant coach Phan Thanh Hung said the team would try their best
to take a second or the best placed third in the group, which set them a
berth in the knock-out round.
Twenty-four teams are
taking part in the under-23s tournament, with the top two and four of
the best third-placed sides from the six groups advancing to the round
of 16./.
