Badminton a smash hit as Indonesia excels at Asian Games

Badminton - 2018 Asian Games - Men's Singles - Final - GBK Istora - Jakarta, Indonesia - August 28, 2018. Gold medallist Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, silver medallist Chou Tienchen of Taiwan, bronze medallist Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, and bronze medallist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia celebrate with their medals during the medals ceremony. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

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.

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.