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KUALA LUMPUR: DPR Korea ’s Ri Kum Suk won the coveted AFC Women’s Player of the Year award as her country grabbed the three highest honours in a glittering inaugural AFC Women’s Awards ceremony here on Tuesday.

Ra Un-sim, who guided DPR Korea to the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship title in Chongqing , China, recently, bagged the AFC Women’s Youth Player of the Year award while DPR Korea were adjudged AFC National Team of the Year following their impressive performances in various women’s competitions this year.

Ri Kum Suk, who led DPR Korea to an eighth-place finish in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and scored 12 goals during her team’s 2008 Beijing Olympic Games qualifying campaign, pipped Japanese veteran Homare Sawa and Australian youngster Collette McCallum to clinch the prestigious award.

Homare Sawa, who won this award in 2004, finished first runners-up while Collette had to be content with the second runner-up prize.

An elated Ri Kum Suk attributed the award to DPR Korea leader Kim Jong-il. “I am very happy to win this award. Whatever I have achieved so far is due to the support of our leader Kim Jong-il and the people of DPR Korea.”

“I was a bit nervous in the beginning but looking at our team’s performance last year, I thought that I could be the winner,” said the 29-year-old.

“Winning this award gave me the same pleasure of scoring a goal for my national team. Our team is among the best in Asia and our aim is to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup in four year’s time.”

She said Asian teams can beat the best in the world with a little bit of hard work. “Asian teams used to struggle in the FIFA events before but this year we have proved ourselves by reaching the quarter-final stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. I am sure we can beat any team in the world if we work harder,” she added.

Japan received the AFC Association of the Year award for their efforts in developing the women’s game in the East Asian country while Korea Republic won the AFC Fair Play Award.

Australia’s Tammy Ogston, who officiated in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup between Brazil and Germany, was chosen as AFC Referee of the Year while her compatriot Tom Sermanni, who guided the Australian national women’s team to their first-ever quarter-final appearance this year, won the AFC Coach of the Year award. Chinese Taipei’s Liu Hsiu Mei was voted as AFC Assistant Referee of the Year.