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Terming it a "massive defeat", coach Ram Mehar Singh hit out at his captain Ajay Thakur's "over confidence" 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.
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:
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.
For the first time in their history, India ended with a bronze medal in their indigenous sport, in which a gold is taken for granted every four years at the Asiad.
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