Punjab, Sept. 21 -- India's Asian Games account is running on shooting and one debut sport. Five medals have come from the range. Suchika Tariyal took bronze in mixed martial arts - India's first ever - and the President congratulated her. The badminton men are through to the quarter-finals. Kabaddi's title defence began today.
Where the medals are
No golds so far.
The MMA medal is the outlier
MMA is making its Asian Games debut at this edition, and India had no medal tradition in it whatsoever before Tariyal beat Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa 2-0 in the semi-final.
First medals in new disciplines are worth more than their colour. They are what unlocks federation funding, and federation funding is what produces the second one.
Stil...