Just before half-time in yesterday's men's kabaddi's semi-final against Iran at the Garuda Theatre here, India captain Ajay Thakur lost his way during a raid and stepped out of the court, thereby losing a point, and giving the Iranians the lead (8-9) for the first time in the match.

It was an apt correlation to how Indian kabaddi has lost its way since the gold medal-winning feat at the last Asian Games in Incheon. The Incheon triumph made it seven golds in a row at all seven editions since the sport was introduced at the Games in 1990. India never recovered from Thakur's slip-up and went down to an embarrassing 18-27 defeat in the end.