Doha:India showed signs of improvement as they went down to Japan 1-2 in a preliminary league match of the men's sepak takraw event in the 15th Asian Games at the Al-Saad Indoor Hall here today.

After three defeats on the trot, the Indians raised hopes of a fightback when they clinched the first regu 42-37 against Japan but failed to keep the momentum and lost the two subsequent regus.

The Indians, taking part in the event for the first time, lost the second regu 18-42 and the third 29-42 to give the Japanese a comfortable victory in the end.

It has so far been a disastrous debut for the Indians who lost the first match to Malaysia on the opening day and then suffered heavy defeat at the hands of Myammar and Thailand.

In the women's section, India proved to be no match to their far superior opponents as they surrendered meekly to Korea 0-3 in a one-sided encounter.

The Koreans scripted an emphatic 42-15, 42-18, 42-20 victory.