JAKARTA: In one of the major upsets on the Day 5 of the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia, Iran ended the seven-time Asian Games Gold medalist India's 'Golden' run with a 27-18 victory over their arch-rivals in men's semifinals clash in Kabaddi. A humiliating defeat at the hands of Iran in the keenly-contested match shattered India's big hopes of adding one more Gold to its kitty on the Day 5 of the ongoing Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia.
Calling it a "massive defeat", Kabaddi coach Ram Mehar Singh hit out at the team's captain Ajay Thakur for being 'over-confident'' after India were knocked out of the Asian Games men's gold medal match for the first time.
Seven-time champions India were downed 18-27 by ever-improving Iran in the semifinals and it will be the first time that they will not be part of the Asiad final since the sport's introduction in 1990.
"We lost the match due to the captain's over-confidence, injury played a part, and super tackle," the dejected coach said after the shocking defeat at the Theatre Garuda.
Influential skipper Thakur got injured during the match and that only made India's job harder.
Even as the result started to trend on the social media, Ram Mehar Singh added, "It's a massive defeat by Iran and we accept this. Our catching was also good. We have to accept that Iran played well."
India's nearly unchallenged domination of the Asian Games kabaddi competition ended with the men's team failing to make the final for the first time.
"'The game was in our control and we can go all the way, don't get excited' we told the players," manager Rambir Khokhar said.
India endured their worst outing this time, having lost to South Korea a few days ago.
"In our last match our defence did not do well, but today our defence did well. We told them to use their mind while raiding. The forward line did not work today, and we faced problems in Super Tackle," Ram Mehar said.
For the first time in its history, India ended with a bronze medal in its indigenous sport, in which a gold is taken for granted every four years at the Asiad.
(With PTI Inputs)
