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 firs 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."
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