Asian Games 2018: Indian Men's Handball team loses 28-38 to Chinese Taipei in opening match

Jakarta: The Indian men’s handball team, whose participation at the Asian Games was mired in controversy before getting clearance, began its campaign at the quadrennial event with a 28-38 defeat against Chinese Taipei at the Popki indoor stadium on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_4956171” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The men’s handball team faced a difficult battle to make it to the Asian Games and had to wait for several countries to pull out before they could play. AFP[/caption] The Games are set to begin in the Indonesian capital with the opening ceremony on 18 August but competitions in many events such as handball and football has already begun. In the 13-team men’s competition, India have been clubbed with Chinese Taipei and Iraq in Group D. There are four Groups. In the women’s draw, 10 teams will be vying for gold. India will compete with South Korea, Kazakhstan, China and North Korea in Group A. The women’s team will play its opening match on Tuesday against Kazakhstan. The men’s handball team, ranked 12th, struggled to get into the Games as the Indian Olympic Association followed a policy of allowing only entry for teams ranked 8th or higher in Asia. The withdrawal from Australia, Uzbekistan, China, Oman and UAE effectively placed India seventh among the participating teams in Jakarta. The Handball Federation used this logic for inclusion of their team and eventually got the green light from the IOA after intervention of the Allahabad High Court.