From India's dominance in athletics to K-Pop performances: five takeaways from the 18th Asian Games
After a successful 15-day 'sporting fiesta' in Jakarta and Palembang, here is what made the Games in Indonesia memorable.
1 — India’s rising stars shine bright
Neeraj Chopra showed why he is one of the nation’s best bet for Tokyo 2020.
The world U20 champion added another gold in his budding javelin career with an impressive throw of 88.06m.
That mark makes the 21-year-old the sixth-best thrower this season.
Swapna Barman, who has 12 toes, also grabbed the headlines for winning India’s first gold in heptathlon at the Asian Games.
The girl from a poor family in Jalpaiguri bravely bore the pain of competing with an ill-fitting pair of shoes for most of her seven events.
Barman, who has six toes on each foot, also battled a severe toothache competing with a taped jaw for most of her events.
Dutee Chand also returned to track with great success taking two sprints silver in the 100m and 200m.
The 22-year-old was banned by the IAAF just before the 2014 Games over hyperandrogenism.
2 — A great achievement
Winning the 2018 Asian Games football final was a great boost for Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min.
South Korea retained the title with a 2-1 victory against Japan.
A win that meant the 26-year-old will not miss the next two seasons at the Spurs, as he is now exempted from military service.
The other members of the gold-medal-winning team will also skip mandatory duty.
Korean law requires that men must begin 21 months of military service before turning 28.
3 — Japan's swimming future promising
With Tokyo 2020 around the corner, Japan’s future looks bright.
Rikako Ikee put Japanese swimming on the map with a record six golds and two silvers in Jakarta.
The 18-year-old was named the best athlete of the Games, the first female to win the award.
Her eight medals matched North Korean shooter So Gin-man, the winner of seven golds and a silver at the New Delhi Games back in 1982.
4 — Unified Korean team delivers
There was also the sustained beautiful reunion between North and South Korea.
The two countries again marched together during the Opening Ceremony under the Korean unification flag and fielded joint teams in three sports.
The highlight was Team Korea’s historic gold in the women's 500m traditional boat race (dragon boat).
There were also combined teams in rowing and women’s basketball.
5 — A touch of K-Pop
There were wonderful moments to look back all around the Asian Games right to the end.
Just as it captivated Olympians at the PyeongChang 2018 Games, the Korean sensation took centre stage at the Closing Ceremony in Jakarta.
K-Pop’s Super Junior and iKON wowed the crowds as they performed alongside other Indonesian stars.
Ikon delighted their fans with hit songs ‘Love Scenario’ and ‘Rhythm Ta’.
While Super Junior delivered ‘Sorry Sorry’, ‘Banamana’ and ‘Mr Simple’.