18th Asian Games were full of glory for the 572-member Indian contingent. India managed to bag 69 gold medals to surpass their best medal tally of 65 medals which they achieved in Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. They won 15 gold medals and also equaled the record of highest number of gold medals. However, there were some events that were the biggest medal prospect for India but they failed to bag the top honours which could have changed the story of India’s medal tally.
5- Men’s and women’s kabaddi team
Both the men’s and women’s team was a force to reckon with not only in Asia but in the world. A young and dynamic men’s team went into the games after getting the winning momentum from Kabaddi Master Dubai 2018. They faced their biggest setback when they were thumped by a tricky South Korea in the group stage that could have been an eye opener. They finished second in their Pool and as a result, they faced much tougher opponent in Iran in the semi-final.
The defense expert Abozar Mighani and Fazal Attrachali were too dominant on the day as they pipped India 27-16 to go into the gold medal match and eventually win the gold.
A young Indian women’s team were dominant in the group stage but some poor umpiring and poor tactics costed them a shot at gold in the finals against Iran.
Indian kabaddi team were the sure-sure gold medal prospects for India over the years. But there loss is a big setback and you gotta feel that Iran has emerged as the supreme force in world kabaddi.
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