For the first time since kabaddi was included in the Asian Games in 1990, the men's team failed to reach the finals, thus seeing an abrupt end to India's unchallenged domination in the game. Abhishek Bachchan, who has championed kabaddi in an otherwise cricket-obsessed nation through his Pro Kabaddi team — Jaipur Pink Panthers — feels it is up to the players to take the defeat in their stride and surge ahead with renewed vigour. The actor tells mid-day that the episode should serve as a lesson to the teams in the Pro Kabaddi league too.

"Everyone is heartbroken, but at the same time it is good for the sport. It is for the first time that someone knocked out the dominant country. This indicates that it's time to pull up our socks. It's going to make the Pro Kabbadi league even more interesting because now, our players will have a point to prove," says Bachchan.