Asian Games 2018: 3 Indian athletes who failed to win a medal

2018 Asian Games in Jakarta has been a mixed bag for India thus far. One one hand, the young talents like Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Poghat have made the country proud by winning the gold medals in their respective wrestling categories.

The young and upcoming shooters like Deepak Kumar (10m Air Rifle Men) and Lakshay (Trap Men), also exceeded expectations by winning silver medals.

But on the other hand, some of the great sportsmen of the country had some unexpected failures also.

In this article, we talk about the three great Indian sportsmen, who failed to win medals for the country, in this 2018 Asian Games.

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#3 Manavjit Singh Sandhu (Men's Trap Shooting)

Manavjit missed as many as nine shots and was eliminated before the medals

Manavjit Singh Sandhu is one of the greatest Indian Shooters of all time. He has been a former world No.1 and a world champion in Trap Shooting.

With his vast experience and five previous medals in Asian Games, Manavjit was expected to win India a medal in the Men's trap event.

He began his campaign in a promising way by finishing at the top of the qualifying list after Day 1. After Day 2 of qualifying also, he held on to his first position and easily entered the finals.

After his rollicking qualifying performance, Manavjit seemed set to win a medal and was in fact, the favourite to win the gold.

However, in the finals, he was far from his best. He missed as many as nine shots and was eliminated before the medals. He could only manage the fourth position, after his below-par performance.

Manavjit's failure to win a medal has been a big disappointment for the Indian sports lovers.

#2 Sakshi Malik (Women's Freestyle Wrestling 62 kg)

Sakshi had a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals

The Rio Olympic Bronze medallist has been a sporting icon in Indian Wrestling. She was one of the favourites to win a gold for the country, going into the 2018 Asian Games.

He started off her campaign in a great fashion by beating the Thai and Kazak Wrestlers by technical superiority to enter the semifinals. However in the semifinals, Sakshi had a heartbreaking loss.

She was leading her Kyrgystan opponent till the dying seconds, but could not hold on to her lead, loosing out by 8-7 points. In the bronze medal match, Sakshi looked far from her best and lost to her Korean opponent, thus ending her campaign in Asian Games 2018, without a medal.

#1 Sushil Kumar (Men's Freestyle Wrestling 74kg)

This loss might well have marked the end of Sushil's illustrious career

Sushil Kumar, the two time Olympics medalist and one of the greatest Indian Sportsmen of all time, has done India proud over the years with some memorable victories.

However, the 2018 Asian Games was an event, which he would like to forget. Although he was recovering from an injury, but still he was considered, one of the favourites to win gold, because of his great capability and huge experience.

However, he could not deliver this time around, losing out in his very first bout against a Bahrain wrestler, Adam Batirov, whom nobody gave a chance. This loss might well have marked the end of Sushil's illustrious career.