Esports’ inclusion in Asian Games 2022 – what changes can players and platforms look forward to?

Tirth Mehta, who won a bronze medal in Asian Games 2018 in the esports category, is excited about the upcoming games in 2022 where esports will figure not just as a demonstration event but will also be eligible for medals that will be counted in the overall tally.

Mehta, who plays the game Hearthstone, believes that Asian Games 2022 to be held in China will make a huge difference in the lives of esports players.

"When I won in Asian Games 2018, I got more recognition and support from the society who earlier thought that I was into gambling as I was playing games online. In addition, such achievements can also help players get more sponsors," he told Moneycontrol.

Karan Manganani, another player who was at Asian Games 2018 and was placed fourth in the game Clash Royale,  said that while inclusion of e-sports in the upcoming Asian Games is good news, Indian players will need support which was lacking in the last games.

"In the main event there was no management, whereas my opponent teams from China, Indonesia had all kinds of facilities from head coach to an analyst. I was all by myself and that's why I could only get the fourth spot. With the right resources I would have been in the top two. Hope things will change in the coming games. At least minimal resources should be provided to players."

Mehta rued the lack of a community of esports players in India despite having good talent. "This needs to change if we have to compete in Asian Games 2022 because players need to start practicing together," he said.

Esports in Asian Games 2022 - here's how India is preparing

This is why Esports Federation of India (ESFI) has already started working around video games like Valorant, Free Fire, and Call of Duty Mobile and will include more like FIFA, PES, and Clash Royale, among others.

"We are doing daily scrims, weekly tournaments. Based on the performance of players we are ranking them and these rankings are released on a monthly basis. This will help in identifying the best talent pool which can represent India at international events including Asian Games," said Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India.

"In order to give our athletes an international exposure, we are arranging matches against the teams from other countries. Recently, our Valorant Team played against Nepal and won. More such exposure is being planned along with their coaching," he added.

In Asian Games 2018, out of the six video games titles India had participated in five, and four teams had qualified for the main event at Jakarta. “We had the highest number of teams who had qualified for the main event,” said Suji.

How will recognition help esports and its players?

Suji said that while the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recognized esports as a sport and countries like Russia, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia recognize esports as a sport, we (India) are yet to reach there. "Recognition pulls in a whole set of opportunities for the esports talent and will legitimize our sport. We are confident that we are not far from recognition."

Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder, Nodwin Gaming, an esports and gaming company, said that if the Sports Authority of India recognises esports as a sports discipline, players would get job security as sportspersons get reservation in jobs and colleges. Plus, the Indian Olympic Association can get sponsorships and in this way can monetise the sport.

Sai Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL), an online gaming platform, said that this opportunity should be used to formalize the sector. "We should fully set up a robust ecosystem for esports, with education, training, and the right support and infrastructure for esports athletes."

He added that in 2020, the esports audience in India reached 17 million from six million in 2017, almost a three-fold jump, according to industry data. And with esports getting included in Asian Games 2022, the sector will get a further boost.

Gaming platforms gear up

Along with ESFI, many gaming platforms are also looking at holding esports to help players brush up their skills.

"We keep a close eye on local and international events and we organise regular tournaments and we are organising India's largest Call of Duty tournament from January 21 with a prize pool of Rs 35 lakh and 2,000 teams (each team will have five members) will be participating. Such tournaments will help players to groom themselves," said Firasat Durrani, VP, Operations, Loco, a gaming app.

Plus, Paytm First Games has launched the Clash Royale Championship, which is a year-long event consisting of four tournaments. Recently, the gaming platform had organised the Clash Royale Tournament which had witnessed over 11,000 registrations.

We are doing daily scrims, weekly tournaments. Based on the performance of players we are ranking them and these rankings are released on a monthly basis

- Lokesh Suji

Ishaan Arya, Co-Founder, The Esports Club, said India's competitive standing outside of PUBG Mobile is extremely low due to a lack of high-level and regular esports opportunities in India.

This is why both Arya and Pariani are focused on creating long term and sustainable esports events and leagues to aid teams and players in being better prepared to compete at the global stage.

"We also aim to provide the players with monetary support for their time invested in the game by encouraging the sponsors to enter the industry," said Pariani.

Still no clarity around esports titles for Asian Games 2022

While players and platforms have started preparing for the Asian Games, there is still no clarity around what games will be included. Both Mehta and Manganani hinted that esports that are violent in nature will not be allowed.

In the 2018 Asian Games, game titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES), Arena of Valor, Hearthstone, Clash Royale, StarCraft II and League of Legends were included.

"I expect popular esports titles that have had a significant global presence over the past few years will be among the games present along with titles from the 2018 demonstration event," said Arya.