Badminton a smash hit as Indonesia excels at Asian Games

JAKARTA (Reuters) - By far the loudest cheers at the main cluster of Asian Games venues in the heart of the Indonesian capital Jakarta over the last couple of weeks have been heard rising from the badminton arena.

Badminton - 2018 Asian Games - Men's Singles - Final winners Source: Reuters

Hugely popular in the Southeast Asian host nation, badminton has attracted thousands of spectators – and millions more on television - making it among the most-watched of the two-week event's 45 sports and 167 disciplines.

Even President Joko Widodo was on hand on Tuesday to watch local hero Jonatan Christie win a gold medal in the men's singles, making it one of just a handful of events he has attended.

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(Additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly and Tabita Diela; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)

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