India’s wushu athletes produced nation’s best ever tally in Asian Games history as they claimed four bronze medals in the ongoing multi-sport spectacle in Indonesia.

Naorem Roshibina Devi, Santosh Kumar, Surya Bhanu Pratap Singh and Narender Grewal finished on the podium after losing their semi-final bouts on Tuesday.

Previously, India’s best in wushu at Asian Games was two medals (silver and bronze) in 2010. Now, they have doubled the tally for their best-ever achievement.

India's Naorem Roshibina Devi was awarded the bronze medal in women's wushu Sanda -60kg category. She defeated Mubshara of Pakistan in the quarter-finals but lost to China's Cai Yingying in the semi-finals.

Santosh Kumar too settled for a bronze after he lost to Vietnam's Ziang in men’s Sanda -56kg. He could not dominate his opponent throughout the match.

India’s third medal was from Surya Bhanu Pratap Singh, who lost to Erfan Ahangarian of Iran in men’s Sanda -60 kg semis. He suffered an ankle injury during the bout but went on to finish the game displaying true sportsman spirit.

The fourth medal for India came through Narender Grewal who was up against Foroud Zafari of Iran in the men's Sanda -65kg semi-finals and lost narrowly 0-1. Grewal was the most experienced Indian in wushu campaign.

Apart from medals, wushu competitors won hearts too in Indonesia.

Surya Bhanu was skidding in the ring after injuring his ankle and could barely walk. He had picked up the injury in his first match. Ahangarian, after the win, lifted the Indian and won millions of hearts for his gesture.

So, what is wushu and when did it make its debut at Asian Games?

Here is all you need to know about the sport.

Wushu or Chinese Kungfu is a martial art form as well as a full contact sport. It was developed in 1949 in an effort to standardise all the Chinese martial art forms.

In contemporary times, wushu has become an international sport through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), which holds the World Wushu Championships every two years.

The first World Championships were held in 1991 in Beijing. The World Kungfu Championships are held every four years.

Wushu made its debut at Asian Games in 1990. Since then Chinese athletes have dominated the sport at the continent’s showpiece event.