Asian Games 2018: Five reasons why India's loss against Korea could be good for kabaddi

The Asian Games have arrived on the scene in full flow as the Indian athletes have gone about their task with all the passion they have in store. Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat clinched gold medals, Deepak Kumar and Lakshay won silver medals and two cap off two decent days for the Indian contingent, Apurvi Chandela/Ravi Kumar won bronze in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event.

In the midst of all of this, however, there was one huge shock or upset, if you may call it. The Indian Men's Kabaddi team, having never ever lost a single game in the history of the Asian Games, fell short to a resurgent Korean setup by an agonizing margin of 23-24.

The loss sent the Indian Kabaddi fans into a tizzy. Questions floated around on social media while the players themselves, distraught by the sudden loss dragged themselves off the court, some teary-eyed and some with their faces turned towards the crowd as the Koreans beamed with pride on their achievement and held their arms aloft, sending a big message to the rest of the kabaddi fraternity.

To put it in short, the mighty Indian team was brought down by an energetic Korean bunch, one that had marched beaming with pride, unseparated by the 'North' and 'South' tag. Kabaddi might now see a fresh beam of light, a light at the end of the tunnel with this Indian loss. Here are five reasons why India's loss could be good for kabaddi.

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#5 A new chapter in the 'Kabaddi storybook'

Since the inception of Kabaddi in the 1990 Asian Games, the results have seen a one-way traffic, dominated by India's wins in each of the summit clashes. The closest India came to losing ever was in the previous edition in the finals against Iran but the Men in Blue held their nerve to come out on top.

Now, South Korea's win will certainly add India's loss into the book as one of the most famous Kabaddi wins ever, highlighted by the fact that while it was a win by a tiny margin, the storyline witnessed a small twist, one that could change the plot in whole if India does not go on to win the Asian Games as expected.

#4 No more 'overconfidence' if there was any!

The victorious Indian Men's Kabaddi team in 2014

The Indian team is stacked with superstars and the fact that they can go on to win the Asian Games for the record eighth time is no closed secret. Led by Ajay Thakur, the Men in Blue possess a powerhouse of talent which can on any day, tackle any opposition.

This exact statement above, which has been repeated numerous times is something that is known by the players as well. Such is the emphasis on the amount of talent that in some games, big players like Rahul Chaudhari, Rishank Devadiga who play a big part in their PKL teams have had to sit out of the match.

Now that the Korean team has come out on tops, the Indian team will have to be wary that they are no more an unbeatable team and if it was ever a cause for overconfidence on the team, that will have certainly been shrugged off by now.

#3 A chance for the Indian women to make a bigger mark

The Indian eves have started off on the right foot

While the men's team came into the competition with a lot of hopes on them, the women's team, defending champions of the Asian Games too came in with a whole lot of expectations. Since the emergence of the Pro Kabaddi League for Women and the World Cup, the women's team has seen an infusion of talents across the country, capable of contributing to the team's cause.

In the opening game of the tournament, against Japan, the Indian women came up with an inspiring performance to win 43-12, led by an all-round performance from left corner Sakshi Kumari. In the next match, against Thailand, the Indian eves romped home to a 33-23 win.

For their next two assignments, the eves will go up against Srilanka and Indonesia. If all goes well, the eves will enter the finals and if they manage to win - achieve a rare feat of winning all the games, something the Indian men could not do.

While it is still in the distant future, the eves have an opportunity to make a mark by winning every game and register a hat-trick of Asian Game titles.

#2 No more the 'Invincibles'

Skipper Ajay Thakur will want to put this loss behind in a haste

Since kabaddi's inclusion into the Asian Games in 1990, the Indian team has featured in 35 matches. Five matches in 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006 and four in 1994, 2010 and now two matches in 2018, all of them including the finals as well.

Such has been India's dominance in kabaddi that the Men in Blue had wins from all 34 matches until the South Koreas came this time around - squashing a long-standing record for most wins in a row.

The win not only instils a sense of belief in the Koreans and boost their confidence, it will also give the lesser known teams a glimmer of hope that there is a way to surmount the massive Indian challenge when it comes their way, albeit it will be a massive task. As the saying goes, 'When there is a will, there is a way,' and there could be no better time for teams to understand and make sense of this than now.

#1 A spark of hope for the world of Kabaddi

Korea put up a tough fight in the Kabaddi Masters and is a team to watch out for

The South Korean win, although not of a landslide margin is certainly going to put South Korean kabaddi in a massive place now, from where it can only grow and get more youngsters to try their hand at the game. No more pushovers in the game, the likes of Jang Kun Lee, Dong Geon Lee have already made a name for themselves and taken Korean kabaddi to a greater height.

In a way, this could also push other teams to put in their best foot forward and attract attention toward the game. In a country like Kenya, where the game is not recognized by the Kenyan government, the players will now see a new opportunity to improve their skills, and pose a challenge to the bigger teams and most importantly, the Indian team which will continue to pose the biggest threat on any given day.