Japan, fielding an U-21 squad in the U-23 tournament, did extremely well to force the final to extra-time as they showed great resilience to hold off their more experienced East Asian rivals for a greater part of a pulsating final at the Pakan Sari Stadium.

Korea Republic deserved the win, having dominated the final as they defended the gold medal won on home soil in the 2014 Games, but Japan produced a plucky performance which augurs well for their 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games preparations.

It was a highly anticipated final between two of Asia's biggest teams and the fans packed the Pakan Sari Stadium stands, having earlier witnessed the United Arab Emirates defeat Vietnam in a penalty shoot-out to claim the bronze.

Korea Republic, who had grown from strength to strength as the tournament progressed, were the quicker to settle as Japan struggled to get the ball.

It was the third shootout win for the UAE, who also defeated Indonesia (Round of 16) and DPR Korea (quarter-finals) on penalties before falling to Japan in the semi-finals.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for Vietnam - having already made history by reaching the last four for the first time since the country’s unification - who were hoping to end their campaign with the bronze after losing to Korea Republic in the semi-finals.

However, it was UAE who claimed the early advantage when Ahmad Al Hashmi latched onto a stray ball, surged down the middle, evaded several Vietnamese players before unleashing a right-footed strike into the bottom right of the net in the 17th minute for a fine individual goal.

Korea Republic clinched the bronze medal after cruising to a 4-0 win over Chinese Taipei in the play-off at the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium.