Asian Games 2018: From burden of history to selection blunders, what failed the Indian kabaddi team
India’s gold medal in the kabaddi event at 1990 Asian Games in Beijing had more significance than being the first ever yellow metal dished out for kabaddi at the quadrennial Games. For India, it was a saving grace, as it averted the nation from the ignominy of returning from the Asian Games without a gold in its kitty for the first time ever.
Since then, a kabaddi gold at the Asiad has been India’s prerogative. Unpunctuated success has been a hallmark of Indian kabaddi teams at continental championships, and with every passing edition, the feeling of inevitability around the outcome has grown stronger. Opponents have improved, contests have become closer, but India’s legacy in kabaddi has remained unscathed.
At Jakarta, where India landed with a squad oozing with generational talents, the script was expected to be no different. But one calamity led to another and India find themselves being forced to play audience to a final they have never missed before.
South Korea who became the first team to beat India in a World Cup match in 2016, repeated the feat at the Asian Games with a 24-23 win in the group phase. It set a nervy India on collision course with Iran in the semi-finals. Desperate for their first ever victory over India after three defeats in the previous finals – 2010 Asian Games, 2014 Asian Games and 2016 Kabaddi World Cup, Iran presented a strong, ruthless and a united front. They out-muscled and out-thought India throughout the forty minutes to hand them their heaviest defeat. A 27-18 score line spelt the end of India’s campaign and arguably their monopoly in the sport.
But how did it happen? How did India lose its golden touch in kabaddi? What went wrong for the battery of Pro Kabaddi superstars who arrived in Jakarta with not just the reputation but also ability of winning kabaddi matches with authority? Let’s analyse.
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