India might've achieved its highest ever Asian Games medal haul in Jakarta-Palembang, but there were also those athletes who failed to live up to expectations.
Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta-Palembang was a memorable event as far as Indian athletes were concerned. The country got a record 69 medals, with 15 of them being gold. Athletics and Shooting were the stand-out disciplines for India, but there were also those like Bridge and Table Tennis that surprised the nation by bringing home medals.
However, India faced some major disappointments too. The country failed to win medals, or better its performance from the last time, in several sports.
Here's a look at five of the biggest duds for India at Asian Games 2018:
1. Kabaddi
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The biggest disappointment for India has to be the men's kabaddi team. The sport was introduced at the Asian Games in 1990 and the Indian men's team had won gold each time since. This time, however, they had to settle for bronze after losing to Iran.
(Image: Twitter @Ra_THORe)
2. Hockey
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The Indian men's hockey team was the favourite to win gold in its event. The Harendra Singh-coached side scored a jaw-dropping 74 goals leading up to their semi-final match, but ended up losing it to Malaysia in the penalty shoot-out. India did manage to beat Pakistan for the bronze medal, but failing to bring home gold is surely a bitter pill. The result also meant the team failed to earn direct qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
(Image: Reuters)
3. Badminton
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While Indian badminton's superstars PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal won silver and bronze, the top male players came up a cropper. Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy were expected to win medals for the country but both got knocked out in the second round itself.
(Image: PTI)
4. Boxing
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India sent a total of 10 boxers to Jakarta-Palembang. Barring Amit Panghal's sensational gold and Vikas Krishan's respectable bronze, none of the Indian pugilists managed to land a medal.
(Image: AFP)
5. Wrestling
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Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat might've caught the country's imagination by winning gold medals, but that doesn't take away from the fact that India's medal count in wrestling came down from the last time. In 2014, the country got five medals in wrestling. This time there were just three, Divya Kakran's bronze being the third. This is surely not the direction Indian wrestling should be heading in. The biggest shocker, of course, was the first-round exit of the legendary Sushil Kumar.
(Image: Reuters)
