Yes, of course. The distance depends on many factors. And your gateway could also receive LoRa packets that are not using LoRaWAN or are using LoRaWAN keys not known to TTN, both of which would then not show in the API but would still show in your own logs.
So, as your logs shows nothing, it seems there are simply no nearby nodes sending at 868.1 MHz, using "virtual channel" SF7 (which is for the shortest distance). Are you sure 868.1 MHz is even the frequency you should use in your area (please discuss that there)? You also might want to get in touch with @Nat; see Chennai, India.