Dubai: The president of the UAE Football Association (UAE FA) has welcomed the UAE’s opening-round fixtures against India and Jordan for the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, next month.

The draws for team sports at the Games were held at the Harbor Park Hotel, Incheon, on Thursday, and the UAE found themselves alongside India and Jordan in Group G in the 29-team men’s competition.

Coming in as silver medallists following their 1-0 loss to Japan at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the UAE squad have been preparing for the Asian Games under coach Mahdi Ali in Austria.

“Three teams in a group look tricky. We will take one match at a time. Jordan has proved it is a good competitor by qualifying for the last stage of the Fifa World Cup, while our record against a rapidly improving India has not been that good in the past,” Yousuf Al Serkal, President, UAE FA told Gulf News.

“We do not want to put unnecessary pressure on the team. They are professionals and they know what they have to do to fulfil the aspirations for the football fans here. The goal, of course, will be to go past the first stage and then take things one match at a time,” Al Serkal added.

The UAE had a dream run in Guangzhou four years ago with wins against top footballing nations Uzbekistan, Kuwait, North and South Korea en route to their narrow loss in the final to Japan.

“The main thing will be to respect our opponents in the group and show no over-confidence against any team. Our team is well prepared for the challenges ahead, and a little bit of luck will always be handy,” Al Serkal said.

Hosts South Korea have been drawn in Group A along with Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Laos, while North Korea are in Group F along with China and Pakistan.

Thursday’s draw was overseen by Honorary Life Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Wei Jizhong. “With nearly 10,000 athletes and 5,000 officials, the Asian Games is nearly on the same scale as the Olympic Games,” he said in the presence of more than 150 technical delegates, international and Asian sports federation officials, local sports association leaders and organising committee members.

The draws for other team sports such as cricket, baseball, softball and hockey will be conducted by rankings.

The 17th Asian Games will open on September 19 and close on October 4. There will be 36 sports, 48 disciplines and 439 events, contested by almost 10,000 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees.