Host China went off to a winning start in both the men's and women's categories in the 2010 taekwondo World Cup which opened on Saturday.

The Chinese men's team defeated Thailand 3-1 before their women counterparts followed suit with a victory over Iran by the same scoreline.

"The match was not as easy as the scoreline suggests, and our Iranian opponents are quite strong. We had to try to get more tiny points to secure the victory," said China's Olympic champion Wu Jingyu.

Yao Qiang, the head coach of Chinese team, said he was not satisfied with the performance.

"Although we won the first battles, some athletes were still not at their best. They seemed to lack confidence on the stage, I hope they can improve in the following days," said Yao.

The first day of the four-day event featured 19 match-ups and the second round will take place on Sunday.