The Asian Games, which will be hosted in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25, will feature esports for the first time as a medal event.
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On Monday, February 14, 2022, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra met with officials from nine non-Olympic sports federations, including the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), at the Olympic Bhawan in order to get a better understanding of their preparations and plans for the upcoming Asian Games 2022.
The Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) is the exclusive regulating body for Esports on the Asian continent, according to the Olympic Council of Asia. It is also in charge of Esports technical conduct at the Asian Games in 2022.
ESFI, an Asian entity recognised in India, has been sending esports teams to Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games since 2007, including the most recent Asian Games in 2018, where India won Bronze in the esports title HearthStone as a showcase event.
The Asian Games, which will be hosted in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25, will feature esports for the first time as a medal event.
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“We are very thankful to the President of IOA Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra ji for appraising ESFI & other non-Olympic sports federations on the various organizing aspects of the Asian Games, to be staged later this year. We also discussed & apprised Batra ji on the preparations, requirements and future planning for the country’s Esports contingent and ‘AESF’s Road to Asian Games’ program which will be launched soon to select the national esports contingent of our country.
“The “AESF Road to Asian Games 2022” will prove to be a milestone journey and act as a catalyst in not only the growth of the esports ecosystem in India but also to consider esports as a form of sports in India. At ESFI end, we are fully committed to growing the esports ecosystem and creating enough opportunities for the Indian esports athletes to participate in the various such events of repute.” said Mr Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India & Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) after the meeting.
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Mr. Bhupender Singh Bajwa, the Chef de Mission, co-chaired the meeting, and comprehensive discussions about training camps and various expenditures were place.
During the meeting, IOA emphasised the importance of a fair and transparent player and athlete selection procedure. The deadline for submitting Indian Team entries by name is April 15, 2022.
The International Esports Federation (IESF) and the Global Esports Federation (GEF), which are in charge of organising the trials for the Inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8, 2022, have both recognised ESFI.
Mr Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India & Vice President, Asian Esports Federation (AESF), Mr Yugal Sharma, Director, Esports Federation of India, and Mr Prabhat Kumar, Treasurer, Esports Federation of India attended the meeting on behalf of ESFI. The ESFI team also presented the IOA President, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, and Chef de Mission, Mr. Bhupender Singh Bajwa, with the “Road to Asian Games” Jersey.
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“ESFI is committed to the development of esports and bringing together the esports fraternity to unlock the full potential of our athletes and provide them with enough international opportunities to compete with their counterparts at an equal level. We take this opportunity to further request the esports community to carry on with their training and get used to the challenges for making into the team to represent in this mega event.” pledges Mr Vinod Kumar Tiwari, President of Esports Federation of India.
Medals will be awarded in eight categories of Esports at the Asian Games in 2022, including EA SPORTS FIFA branded soccer games, an Asian Games version of PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor, Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, Hearthstone, and Street Fighter V.
The ESFI reminds potential qualifying gamers/players to prepare their passports and get completely immunised.
Bridge, Chess, Ju-Jitshu, Kurash, Sepaktakraw, Sports Climbing, Soft Tennis, and Softball were among the eight non-Olympic sports federations present at the meeting, in addition to ESFI.
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